Mysore: A woman accused, who allegedly pushed a junior engineer attached to the rural employment scheme under National Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) to suicide in Kurahatti Hosur village in Chamarajanagar district, is still elusive.
The engineer, Suresh, immolated himself in his residence on June 23, unable to bear the harassment and life threats for refusing to clear files of substandard civil works worth Rs 27 lakh in the MGNREGA scheme. Two other accused in the case –Vairamanikya, an employee of Chamarajanagar ZP, and Sardar, former president of Kurahatti Hosur Gram Panchayat, have been arrested. But Sardar’s wife Saroja, who was allegedly the kingpin, has not yet fallen into the police net.
The engineer’s death has brought to fore several issues, including the misuse of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act to target honest officers.
It is said that Saroja, accused number two in the case, has a history of misbehaviour with Kurahatti gram panchayat members. A village GP member said that she called the shots at the gram panchayat, even though she is only an anganwadi worker. In fact, Suresh’s family members had approached Saroja, requesting her not to harass the engineer. But she continued her torture.
