SP orders probe into suicide of man who named DGP's son

The Ramanagaram district superintendent of police (SP) on Tuesday ordered an investigation into the suicide of Shivanna, who named DGP Om Prakash’s son’s in the dying declaration.

Ramanagaram SP Chandragupta said, “The case will be probed by a team led by Magadi inspector. The statements of Shivanna’s family members have been recorded and are being examined.”

“It is also learnt that a video has emerged in which Shivanna has mentioned names of a few people responsible for his death and the video is being verified. If required, the people concerned will be questioned,” said another senior police officer.

Shivanna’s son, Arun Kumar, said that their family is being threatened by his relative Lokesh and his family members. “We are being threatened by our uncle, a few other relatives and even the police. Every one in our family and people in our village should know that these people should be held responsible, if anything goes wrong,” he said.

“After my father’s death, I went to the police station to lodge a complaint but the police asked me not to name DGP’s son Kartikesh in the complaint. I told the police that my father has mentioned Karthikesh’s name in the video but they did not pay heed. The police should consider the video as evidence and conduct a fair investigation,” he added.

T Shivanna, 57, had consumed poison at his house at Gavinagamangala village on Sunday evening. He was rushed to a hospital in Magadi before being taken to Victoria Hospital in Bengaluru. On Monday, around 6 am, he failed to respond to treatment and died.

He accused the son of state police chief Om Prakash of harassing him by supporting his rivals in a land dispute. Before consuming poison, he had claimed that he was harassed by his relatives and a few influential people over a land dispute and was unable to handle the pressure.

Son doesn’t know Shivana: DGP
DG&IGP Om Prakash said that he spoke to his son, who is currently abroad. “When I asked him about Shivanna, he said that he is not aware of anyone by that name. It is astonishing how Karthikesh’s name was dragged into the incident. I found that Shivanna and Lokesh have filed several complaints against each other and a charge sheet has been filed in a couple of cases and the trial is going on. There is no reason for them to bring up my son’s name. Let the police investigate the case.”