BBMP school headmaster goes missing; suicide suspected

Teacher leaves 'death note', says he was overlooked for promotion

The headmaster of a BBMP school has gone missing since Saturday. But what has caused concern for his family and the school authorities is the discovery of a four-line letter in his chambers on Monday morning, in which he says he will jump to death into the river Cauvery in Srirangapatna.

The reason he mentions is the perceived ill-treatment by the BBMP.

Vedantachar, 53, a resident of Ganga Nagar, was the headmaster of the BBMP High School near Bannappa Park. His family claims that he felt slighted at not being promoted as a PU lecturer after 27 years of service, even though his juniors were given promotion. The teacher had been depressed for a week now and had confided with his wife, Anita, about the ‘injustice’.  

Anita and the couple’s sons, Mukund and Mohan, searched for him when he never returned home from school on Saturday. Anita lodged a missing complaint at R T Nagar Police on Sunday morning.

On Monday morning, the school authorities called up the teacher’s home and told them about the letter. The handwriting in the letter in Kannada was identified as that of Vedantachar by his family.

“I am dejected at the neglect by the BBMP of its Education department. I am also depressed at the indiscipline of boys in the school and I am depressed with life. I am going to jump into River Cauvery at Srirangapatna,” the signed letter, dated August 24 (Saturday), says.

The family rushed to Srirangapatna and launched a search operation. However, they could not find him nor his mortal remains. Rajagopalachar, his elder brother, told Deccan Herald that when they inquired with some people near the ‘sangam’ (confluence) in Srirangapatna, by showing them Vedantachar’s photo, they confirmed seeing him near the banks of the river on Saturday. He said the local police will launch a search operation in the river to find his body, if he is dead.

He said Vedantachar was in a happy family, but not being promoted was his only
grouse. “There is no place in the department for those who toil honestly,” the teacher often told his brother. Rajagopalachar said BBMP was directly responsible for his brother’s life.