69 PDOs resign en masse

The mass resignations came in the wake of Mandakini (23), the PDO of Sannur Gram Panchayat, committing suicide over alleged harassment by GP members. Mandakini was found hanging from a ceiling fan at her house on Sunday. Based on the complaint by her mother, police arrested the bill collector, a former GP president and a village leader.

As per the complaint, Mandakini ended her life dejected by the torture meted out by all the three arrested.

Following the incident, of the 89 PDOs in the district, 69 submitted a common resignation letter on Monday accusing the government of being indifferent to the attacks on the officers. Zilla Panchayat CEO Vijaykumar said the letter will be forwarded to the government.

Only those resignations submitted individually will be deemed valid, he added.
No action had been taken against those who attacked the PDOs in Bidar, Koppal and Udupi districts, the letter stated. The officers also staged a protest demanding supersession of the Sannur GP where Mandakini served. In a memorandum submitted to the deputy commissioner lack of security to women PDOs in the State was highlighted.