BENGALURU: In a setback to former Congress cabinet minister KJ George, a Special Court in the city on Friday passed an order to register a case and issue summons against George and two senior IPS officers, in relation to the suicide of DySP MK Ganapathy. Judge TN Inavally of the Special Court, set up to try criminal cases against elected representatives, stated that there is scope for investigation in the Ganapathy suicide case.

George is accused number one, IGP Pronab Mohanty, then IGP Lokayukta and at present on Central deputation, is accused number two, and DGP, Home Guards & Civil Defence A M Prasad (then ADGP, State Intelligence) is accused number three.

The judge ordered that a case be registered under section 306 read with 34 of IPC (abetment of suicide with common intention). Ganapathy, who was working as DySP in Mangaluru, died by suicide on July 7, 2016, at Sree Vinayak Lodge in Madikeri. Before committing suicide, he had alleged in an interview to some local TV channels that the three accused were responsible for his death. Madikeri Town Police had registered an unnatural death report (UDR).

The order was passed based on a complaint filed by Nehal Ganapathy, son of the deceased officer, while rejecting the opinion of the CBI investigation officer (IO) in the closure report that, there is no evidence to show that accused no. 1 to 3 abetted the suicide of Ganapathy. Dismissing the prayer made by the IO to close the case, the Special Court took cognisance of the offences, saying, “The complainant has made sufficient grounds to take cognisance of the offence on the basis of materials available in the closure report filed by the CBI.

On the other hand, the IO has failed to make any grounds to accept his opinion in the closure report.” On the family’s request, the case was handed over to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), which filed a B report and gave a clean chit to George, Mohanty and Prasad. Unhappy with the report, Ganapathy’s parents had moved the Supreme Court, following which the case was taken up by CBI. George, meanwhile, is learnt to have said that he is open to any investigation in the case.