FIR lodged against three top officials.
By Sreekanth A. Nair
Karnataka minister KJ George resigned on Monday after a local court ordered the police to include him in the First Information Report (FIR) of the suicide case of Deputy Superintendent of Police, MK Ganpathi.
George, who has been defending the charges against him since the allegations were leveled against him, submitted his resignation letter to the state Chief Minister Siddaramaiah who also supported him while facing the accusations, reported The Times of India.
A court in Madikeri, Kodagu district asked the police to file an FIR against George, Additional Director General of Police (Intelligence) A.M. Prasad and Lokayukta (Ombudsman) Inspector General of Police Pranob Mohanty in connection with the alleged suicide of Ganapathi.
Ganapathi, who killed himself by hanging at a private lodge in Madikeri on July 7, had alleged in a TV interview that the minister along with the two higher-ups had been harassing him and held them responsible if anything happened to him. He was found dead hours after giving the interview.
Though the police had filed a case of natural death under Section 174 of the Indian Penal Code, the minister, and the police officers were not included in the FIR. Ganapathi’s elder son Nehal approached the court demanding an FIR against the trio under Section 306 of the IPC.
Siddaramaiah convened an emergency meeting to discuss the situation. Earlier, the CM had said that the question of the minister’s resignation does not arise. “I am yet to get a copy of the court order, after getting it, we will take a decision and let you know,” he said on Monday.
The opposition parties had been demanding George’s resignation since the cop was found dead two weeks back. George was holding the portfolio of Bengaluru Development. He was the Home Minister till October 31, 2015.