Mandya/Ballari/New Delhi, Dec 9: The Mandya district police have formed three teams to investigate the suicide of Ramesh Gowda, the official driver of Bheema Naik, special land acquisition officer, Bengaluru Urban district. Gowda had made startling revelations in this regard in a death letter on Tuesday.
Speaking to reporters in Mandya, Superintendent of Police C?H?Sudheer Kumar Reddy said the police were collecting CCTV footage from Samrat Lodge on the Mysuru-Bengaluru highway, where Gowda had committed suicide.
As Gowda has accused Naik of money laundering and corruption, the police have also alerted the Income Tax and Anti-Corruption Bureau sleuths.
According to Gowda's death note, he was facing death threats from Naik and his personal car driver Mohammed,?as he knew all the secrets of the officer.
Family members of Gowda have demanded a thorough investigation and stringent punishment for Naik and Mohammed. Speaking to DH, Mahendra, brother of Gowda, said he committed suicide as Naik and Mohammed harassed him. According to Mahendra, Gowda had told his friends that he had booked a room in Samrat Lodge for the guests of his boss.
Gowda's mother Sakamma said that three months ago, he had told her that Naik was harassing him. “Naik should be held responsible for the death of Gowda and punished,” she said. However, Naik had appreciated Gowda for his work, Sakamma said.
Intelligence sleuths on Thursday visited the office of the tahsildar in Ballari to collect details of Naik's service here.
Former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa on Thursday demanded a detailed probe into the charges made against Naik.
“The suicide note tells many stories. The state government must probe it, to bring the culprits to book,” he told reporters in New Delhi.
If any politician, including former minister G Janardhana Reddy, is involved in converting black money into white, they must be punished without succumbing any pressure, he said.
Pointing out the recent incident of two officials being caught with huge amount of cash and gold, Yeddyurappa said this indicated how the state government was functioning. Most of the funds allocated for development works had been swindled by officials and people in power in the state, he said.
Naik had tainted past as tahsildar
Controversy is not new to KAS?officer Bheema Naik, reports DHNS from Gangavathi in Koppal district.
The KAS?officer was under suspension between July 21, 2010, and July 20, 2011, when he was the Gangavathi tahsildar, for harassing his subordinates. He was also accused of involvement in illegal mining. Naik was later transferred from Gangavathi. Cases pertaining to this are still pending against Naik in a local court. He also faced charges of giving cultivation chits in violation of rules. A few other officials had been suspended along with him. The FIR?had been filed on August 18, 2011. Naik has been accused of pressuring the staff to give out various certificates. There was also a case of assault on an employee by name Hyder against the officer. The employee had tried to commit suicide.
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