Brother's death may have pushed Yellappa to suicide, says Belagavi cops

Bengaluru: While DySP Kallappa Handibag’s parents are grieving after losing their two sons in a span of four months, the Belagavi police probing the suicide of constable Yellappa Handibag believe that he took the extreme step because of depression.

Yellappa, who was posted at the Kulagod police station in Gokak taluk in Belagavi, was found hanging at his house on Thursday afternoon. He had joined the police department in 2008. He was the younger brother of Chikkamagaluru DySP Kallappa Handibag, who ended his life in June after an FIR was registered against him in a kidnap and extortion case.

An officer of the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police is probing Yellappa’s suicide from all angles. However, there is a strong suspicion that he was depressed since the day he lost his brother. “So far the probe points to the fact that Yellappa was very close to his brother Kallappa and was depressed since his death. We are not able to suspect any other reason for his death. It has come to light that after losing his brother, Yellappa frequently took out his brother’s photograph and kept weeping looking at it, even as hi colleagues tried to console him. Prima facie, it appears that the depression drove him to suicide,” an official said.

The police have gathered information about his personal and professional life, but there were no issues that could drive him to suicide. “He shared a very cordial relationship with his family members and also with his colleagues and senior officers,” the official said.