Unable to stand 'injustice', govt staffer commits suicide in K'taka

Bengaluru, Nov 5 (IANS) A government staffer committed suicide, allegedly over the injustice meted out to him by his seniors and Personal Assistant to State Women and Child Welfare Minister Laxmi Hebbalkar in Karnataka's Belagavi district.

The deceased, identified as Rudaranna Yadavanna who worked as the Second Division Assistant (SDA) at the Tehsildar's office, named the Personal Assistant of Hebbalkar in his death note.

Following the incident, the Karnataka BJP demanded the minister's resignation.

Yadavanna sent a message in the staffer's WhatsApp group mentioning the names of Tehsildar Basavaraja Nagarala and the Minister's PA Somu holding them responsible for his death.

He also stated that too much injustice was taking place in the office and he could not bear it.

The deceased officer had asked other employees of the Tehsildar's office to fight the "injustice" unitedly.

Even as the victim posted the message around 7.30 p.m. on Monday, no action was taken.

Yadavanna, who was working for many years, was recently transferred. Yadavanna's wife also works as the village accountant in the Tehsildar's office.

The jurisdictional Khadebazar police have taken up the investigation.

Preliminary reports suggested that Yadavanna had committed suicide early in the morning and the incident came to light after other staff arrived at the office.

Sources said the deceased officer had also recorded a video in which he mentioned that he was committing suicide due to harassment by the senior officers.

Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, BJP Legislative Council Member N. Ravi Kumar has called for Minister Hebbalkar's resignation following the suicide of Yadavanna.

He mentioned that Yadavanna left a note attributing his death to Hebbalkar's private secretary, stating he had "suffered" for many days.

Speaking to media representatives at the BJP State Office in Bengaluru, Kumar demanded Hebbalkar's resignation, saying that the BJP government had taken the resignation of former minister K. S. Eshwarappa under similar circumstances.

--IANS

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