Contract driver dies by suicide in Karnataka: BJP MP K Sudhakar, two others booked

Chikkaballapura (Karnataka), Aug 7 (PTI) An FIR was registered against BJP MP K Sudhakar and two others on charges of abetment of suicide following the death of 35-year-old contract driver employed under the Zilla Panchayat in Chikkaballapura, police said.

The deceased, identified as M Babu, died by suicide on Thursday morning, allegedly by hanging himself from a tree on the premises of the Deputy Commissioner's office, police said.

Babu reportedly left behind a suicide note in which he named BJP MP Sudhakar and two others, alleging they were responsible for his death, police added.

According to police, Babu had been working as a contract driver in the Zilla Panchayat for the past six to seven years and was assigned to the chief accounts officer.

"A suicide was reported early this morning at the Chikkaballapura DC office premises. We received information at around 8.30 am that someone had died by hanging from a tree," Superintendent of Police Kushal Chouksey told PTI.

Citing a preliminary inquiry, the SP said Babu had told his wife that he was scheduled to drive an officer to a meeting and left home with the official vehicle. Instead, he went to the DC office premises and allegedly died by suicide.

"We recovered a death note from the scene, which mentions several names. We are verifying the allegations and investigating the case from all possible angles," he added.

Another senior police officer said the note named BJP MP Sudhakar, a Zilla Panchayat accounts assistant, and a man identified as Nagesh.

Babu alleged that Nagesh and the accounts assistant had "cheated him of several lakhs of rupees", claiming they could help him secure a government job "using the MP's influence".

"These are serious allegations. A thorough investigation will determine whether the MP was directly involved or if his name was misused. We are examining all angles," the officer said.

Further investigation is underway.

Based on the complaint of deceased person's wife, the FIR was registered at Chikkaballapura Rural police station under sections 108 (abetment of suicide), 352 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace), 351 (2) (criminal intimidation) and 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the relevant sections under the SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act, 2015.

In the FIR, BJP MP Sudhakar has been named as accused 1, Nagesh as accused 2 and Manjunatha as accused 3.

Reacting to the incident, earlier in the day, BJP MP Sudhakar told reporters in New Delhi that he was "deeply pained" by the death but denied any connection to the deceased.

"I heard about the suicide at the DC office in Chikkaballapura. It has deeply saddened me. I offer my condolences to the family. I have never seen or met this person, Babu, in my public life," Sudhakar said.

The MP, a former minister and three-time MLA, said he had helped many youths secure employment and did not understand why his name was mentioned in the note.

"I have no information about the other two individuals named in the note.

I've heard that Nagesh and Manjunath allegedly promised Babu a job and took Rs 10-15 lakh from him. I don't know them personally," he added.

Sudhakar said Nagesh's father-in-law was a former JD(S) taluk panchayat president who joined the BJP after he did.

"We had appointed him as the president of the Chikkaballapura Development Cell," the MP added. PTI AMP ADB