Special court summons K J George, 2 IPS officers in Ganapathy case

A special court, set up exclusively to deal with criminal cases related to elected representatives, has summoned former minister K J George and two IPS officers Pronab Mohanty and A M Prasad in the case of abetting Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP) M K Ganapathy to kill self. The special court rejected the B report (closure report) filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and posted the further hearing to September 28.

T N Inavally, judge of the special court, ordered the case to be registered against the three accused for an offence punishable under IPC section 306 for abetment to commit suicide. "...this court is of the considered view that there is prima facie material against the accused persons to take cognizance of the offence punishable under section 306 of IPC and proceed against them in the case accordingly, in spite of the opinion of the I.O. in the closure report," the judge said in the order.

Also read — George, 2 IPS officers get clean chit in Ganapathy case

Ganapathy, who was the then DySP in Mangaluru, had died by suicide on July 7, 2016, by hanging himself in a room at a lodge in Madikeri town. The CBI had filed the B closure report on October 30, 2019.

Ganapathy had spoken about the harassment meted out to him by the then Home Minister George and two IPS officers in an interview with a local TV channel at Madikeri before taking the extreme step. The CBI had collected 42 documents and examined 108 witnesses to come to a conclusion that none of the allegations made by Ganapathy was the reason for him to kill self. The CBI held that Ganapathy was having a troubled personal life and was undergoing severe stress and mental agony and in the process became very upset and stressed. The CBI report also stated that there was no department enquiry pending against Ganapathy as on the date of his death.

However, the court observed that except for the statement of M K Thamaiah, younger brother of Ganapathi, there was no other material on record to show that Ganapathi had a strained relationship with his wife. Thamaiah, who is also a DySP in the state, said his brother had family issues and that might have pushed him to take the drastic step. In all other statements, the relatives have referred to the names of the accused as had been told to them by Ganapathy. The court held that the issue pertaining to his mental status should be considered along with the materials on record regarding the treatment earlier to his death.

The court also agreed to the argument placed by the complainants that the harassment to Ganapathy after the incident at Kulashekara Church at Mangaluru during the Church attack in 2008 could have continued till his death. Though the CBI report said that the incident had happened in 2008, the court referred to the statements that in the year 2013 George had visited the very Church at Mangaluru after he became the Home Minister. "This material on record prima facie shows that the deceased had suffered harassment at the hands of the accused No.1 after the accused No.1 (George) becoming Home Minister,’’ the court said.

On the other accused, the complainants alleged that A M Prasad was upset because Ganapathy did not obey the orders to provide a private vehicle to pick up and drop his son who was studying in Udupi. The statements of the relatives suggest that Ganapathy had been telling about how Pronab Mohanty was torturing him in the Yeshawanthapur encounter matter.

The case so far: The case initially was registered by the Madikeri police and then subsequently transferred to the Criminal Investigation Department in September 2016. The complainants, family members of the deceased, filed objections to the CID ‘B’ report and also filed an appeal seeking CBI probe. The Supreme Court ordered CBI investigation in September 2017.