CBI books Karnataka minister KJ George , senior police officers in DSP suicide case

K J George

The CBI has re-registered a case of abetment of suicide against state minister K J George and two senior police officers in connection with the death of Deputy Superintendent of Police M K Ganapathy in Madikeri town of Karnataka’s Kodagu district in 2016.

The agency registered the case against George and senior police officers — A M Prasad, state intelligence chief, and Pranav Mohanty, who is on central deputation — on the basis of a Supreme Court order of September 5, 2017, directing a CBI probe into the death of the DSP.

The Supreme Court order followed a plea by the father and brother of the DSP for reopening of investigations that were closed by the Criminal Investigation Department of Karnataka Police.

The CID had filed a closure report in the case on September 17, 2016, but the report was not accepted by a magistrate’s court after the DSP’s father and brother informed the court about a case being filed for a CBI probe in the Supreme Court.

DSP Ganapathy, 51, who faced investigation over an encounter death and for corruption in the course of his career, committed suicide at a lodge in his home district of Kodagu. Before his death, Ganapathy told a local television channel that former home minister and then Bengaluru Development Minister K J George and two senior police officers —Prasad and Mohanty — would have to be blamed if anything untoward happened to him.

Amid a political uproar over Ganapathy’s suicide, his teenage son filed a complaint against the minister and the officers. The state government ordered a CID probe even as the minister stepped down and the officers were transferred out of executive roles.

The CID probe found that the DSP committed suicide by hanging himself in a lodge in Madikeri after the television interview. Distress in his professional and personal life, suicide of a colleague DSP Kallappa Handibag on July 5, and mental health problems that the officer was being treated for, were all cited as possible factors leading to the death. The probe did not name any individual or particular circumstance for the death.

Shortly after the filing of the CID report in September last year , George was reinstated as a minister while Prasad was reappointed state intelligence chief and Mohanty was already on central deputation.

The CID questioned George and the officers, and stated in the report that they never had any direct interaction with Ganapathy in the period leading to his death. The CID found that as minister of home, George had shielded Ganapathy when permission was sought for his prosecution in a case of violence between lawyers and policemen. The police officers told the CID that all interactions with the officer were about work.