Constable ends life over ‘harassment’ by seniors in ganja case

Hyderabad: A police constable from Bhadradri Kothagudem who attempted suicide on Saturday night, allegedly following harassment by his superiors, died while undergoing treatment at a corporate hospital in Hyderabad on Sunday. He was shifted to the city for better treatment after his condition started to deteriorate. He was earlier arrested in a Ganja case and later placed under suspension.
In a series of videos that 35-year-old Bhukya Sagar recorded before taking the extreme step near his home in Khammam, he claimed that his senior officers, sub-inspectors Rajesh Kumar and Santosh Kumar, had framed him in a ganja case. He named a third person, Gonela Nani, who is associated with a political party. "I am not able to take this blame. They were involved in the ganja trade. They used my mobile to make calls to users and suppliers. When there is some lapse, the SI should be questioned, but I was made a scapegoat," Sagar is heard saying in a video that was widely circulated on social media. In one of Sagar's videos he is also seen asking his wife, Ashwini, to take care of their children and his father to forgive him.
On a complaint from Sagar's father Bhukya Kishan, a case for abetment to suicide (109 BNS) and for Prevention of Atrocities against SC&STs act was registered against Kothagudem former Task Force Inspector Satyanarayana, Sub-Inspectors Santosh and Raj Kumar of Burgampahad police station, where Sagar was working at the time of his arrest, and another private person Gonela Nani, said Ufatul Rafi, Station House Officer, Enkoor police station, Khammam.
Kothagudem police confirmed that Sagar, a 2013-batch constable, was initially posted at Burgampahad police station. A departmental probe into a portion of seized ganja going missing from the police station in January 2024 revealed Sagar's role in it.
"The inquiry revealed Sagar was involved in the pilferage of seized ganja. Subsequently, he was also booked under the NDPS act and sent to judicial remand. He got bail in March 2024, after which he was placed under suspension," said an official from Kothagudem. Sagar's suspension was revoked a few days ago and he was given a new posting at Edulla Bayyaram police station. However, he did not report to duty.