Upset over allegations of money laundering, B'luru cashier kills himself

Bengaluru: A 57-year-old bank employee ended his life by hanging himself from a ceiling fan at his residence in Vivek Nagar on Wednesday morning.

The deceased has been identified as Ravi Raj, a senior cashier with State Bank of Mysore in Avenue Road Branch. Ravi, a resident of Vannerpet in Vivek Nagar, took the extreme step as he was upset over unsubstantiated reports in local TV channels that he was under scrutiny for money laundering.

As he believed the bank was planning to take disciplinary action against him, Raj ended his life, his family members said. Vivek Nagar police said that he left no suicide note behind.

A report said that news channels had reported that an internal enquiry was on against Ravi Raj and his colleagues over currency conversion. Some channels went to the extent of saying the CBI had filed a case against Raviraj. However, senior SBM officials told the police that Raj faced no charges.

The cashier lived with his elder brother, Govind Raj, in Viveknagar. On Wednesday morning, the brothers went on a morning walk and returned home around 8 am. Thereafter, Raviraj went to the reading room.

However, when his wife knocked on the door of the reading room, she received no reply. After a few tries, she became suspicious. She climbed the compound wall and peeped through the window of the reading room, only to find her husband hanging from the ceiling fan.

Family members broke open the door and took Ravi Raj’s body down from the ceiling before alerting the police.

The family said Raj was shocked at media reports about him being investigated for money laundering. "Relatives and friends had been calling Raviraj to ask him what had happened. It was tough to answer each call," a relative was quoted as telling the police.

Ravi Raj fell into depression after the reports began floating around, and eventually committed suicide.

However, the staff and officials at SBM Bank said he had been working there for 25 years without cause for suspicion. "News of CBI officers visiting the branch and questioning him and others is also baseless," an SBM official was quoted as saying.