A 33-year-old Dalit man engaged as a driver with the Chikkaballapur zilla panchayat in Karnataka died by suicide on Thursday, August 7 after blaming Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP K Sudhakar and two others in a four-page death note. His body was found on the premises of the office of the zilla panchayat’s deputy commissioner.
The deceased, identified as N Babu, was employed as a contract driver of the zilla panchayat’s chief accounts officer. He alleged the trio had promised to help him get a permanent government job in exchange for Rs 40 lakh but cheated him. According to the police, Babu was working as a driver for 7-8 years.
In the suicide note Babu has blamed zilla panchayat second division assistant Manjunath and one Nagesh along with BJP MP Sudhakar. The note, purportedly written by Babu, was found in his car.
"On January 15, 2021, the duo - Nagesh and Manjunath - told me that they had spoken to the MP and that he would secure me a job for Rs 40 lakh. They asked for Rs 25 lakh on an immediate basis. I had Rs 15 lakh and borrowed Rs 10 lakh and gave it to them. I have given them Rs 35 lakh in total," Babu alleged in the suicide note, according to Deccan Herald.
However, even after a year, he did not get the job and the money was also not returned, the note said. Before taking his own life, Babu allegedly sent the death note on WhatsApp to a zilla panchayat office employee on Wednesday evening, but this was not taken seriously.
According to reports, Babu left home in the official vehicle and was scheduled to drive an officer to a meeting.
Following the incident, several dalit organisations and local Congress workers staged a protest in Chikkaballapur on Thursday afternoon, demanding the immediate arrest of Sudhakar and other two accused, according to Times of India.
BJP MP Sudhakar dismissed the allegations and said he never met Babu. "I don't know who Babu and Manjunath are. Nagesh's relative Krishnamurthy is in our party and I know him. It is a political conspiracy to drag my name into this case. I have nothing to do with it," Sudhakar was quoted as saying by Indian Express.
According to reports, based on the complaint by Babu’s wife, an FIR has been 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. Sudhakar has been named as the primary accused in the case.