K'taka Cop Suicide: Minister George Says Ready For Probe, Won't Step Down

Karnataka Minister for Development and Town Planning KJ George on Friday said he is open to any kind of enquiry but he won't step down after his name cropped up in the suicide note written by Deputy SP MK Ganapathy who hung himself to death inside a lodge.

Ganapathy, 51 committed suicide on Thursday and a note was recovered from the room which also named George's son and senior officers for forcing him to take his own life.

Ganapathy, is the second Karnataka cop to kill himself in the last 48 hours after Chikkamagaluru rural deputy superintendent of police Kalappa Handibagh, 34, hanged himself at Belagavi, about 500 km from Bengaluru.

The incident came to light later when the lodge receptionist when to check for Ganapthy as some police personnel came to visit him.

Ganapathy, 51, was found in uniform with service revolver around the waist, hanging by rope to a ceiling fan in a lodge room.

On being alerted by the Vinayaka lodge staff in the hill town, police rushed to the spot and lowered Ganapathy's body hanging from ceiling by a rope.

According to sources, Ganapathy went to Madikeri from Mangaluru earlier in the day and checked into the lodge and was seen alive in the room till afternoon.

Incidentally, in a television interview to a local (Kannada) news channel aired in the afternoon in Kodagu district, Ganapathy had accused his senior officers of harassing him and putting pressure on him in various cases.

He (Ganapathy) declared that if anything happened to him, former state home minister K.J. George, Lokayuktha (ombudsman) IGP Pranab Mohanty and ADGP (intelligence) A.M. Prasad would be responsible.

A 1991 batch officer of the state cadre, Ganapathy entered the police service under sports quota. He hailed from a hamlet at Siddhappur near Madikeri.

Meanwhile, the BJP has sought the sacking of Minister KJ George and accused him of high-handedness.

"Death of Mr Ganpathy is evidence that honest officers have no safety in Karnataka as far this govt is concerned," BJP's Jagdish Shettar said.

Congress leader Dinesh Gundu Rao however defended his government and said thorough investigations will bring out the truth and it wouldn't be right to jump into conclusions.

KJ George's son Rana George too expressed surprise at his name being hurled into the entire controversy and said he hasn't ever met Ganapathy.