Bengaluru City Police Commissioner Kamal Pant on Saturday suspended a police sub-inspector and ordered a departmental inquiry against three other policemen following the death of a suspect who died by suicide on Friday while he was in custody. According to reports, the suspect in the case — Siddalinga Swamy, a real estate agent, was booked by Vidyaranyapura police in north Bengaluru in December 2020 for allegedly taking huge sums of money from several gullible people with the promise of giving them BDA (Bangalore Development Authority, a parastatal) sites. He was also suspected of forging signatures of various BDA officials.
The sub-inspector has been identified as Manjunath Kattimani and the other policemen who will be probed for negligence are head constables Ravi Aradhya, Mruthyunjaya and a constable named Umesh of Hanumanthanagar Police Station.
While the case was registered against Swamy in December, he was arrested only on February 24. It was only on Friday when he was taken to his residence by the police as part of spot inspection, that he died by suicide.
The police said that Swamy was ashamed to be escorted by police in front of his family.
Police said that Swamy was ashamed to be escorted by police in front of his family.
Deccan Herald quoted a senior police officer as saying that the police conducting the spot inspection should have been cautious and prevented the tragedy. The Police Commissioner also announced that the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) will now take over the case against Swamy and a magisterial inquiry will also be conducted. The Hindu quoted the Commissioner as saying that the incident was captured on CCTV camera.
Bengaluru Police Commissioner added that action will be taken against the four police officials based on the outcome of the probe.
If you are aware of anyone facing mental health issues or feeling suicidal, please provide help. Here are some helpline numbers of suicide-prevention organisations that can offer emotional support to individuals and families.
Tamil Nadu
State health department's suicide helpline: 104
Sneha Suicide Prevention Centre - 044-24640050 (listed as the sole suicide prevention helpline in Tamil Nadu)
Andhra Pradesh
Life Suicide Prevention: 78930 78930
Roshni: 9166202000, 9127848584
Karnataka
Sahai (24-hour): 080 65000111, 080 65000222
Kerala
Maithri: 0484 2540530
Chaithram: 0484 2361161
Both are 24-hour helpline numbers.
Telangana
State government's suicide prevention (tollfree): 104
Roshni: 040 66202000, 6620200
SEVA: 09441778290, 040 27504682 (between 9 am and 7 pm)
Aasara offers support to individuals and families during an emotional crisis, for those dealing with mental health issues and suicidal ideation, and to those undergoing trauma after the suicide of a loved one.
24x7 Helpline: 9820466726
Click here for working helplines across India.