Bengaluru: The police department has been rocked by yet another suicide – this time by a Circle Inspector of Malur police station in Kolar district. He killed himself early Tuesday by shooting himself with his service pistol. Though the exact reason for the extreme step is yet to be ascertained, the police suspect family dispute.
The deceased, M. Raghavendra (in pic), 41, who hailed from Narasapura village in Kolar taluk, had joined the police department as sub inspector in 2003 and was posted at Malur a year ago.
According to the police, the inspector was on night rounds on Monday. They had got information that red sanders was being smuggled near Hosahalli Agrahara village. He along with other staff went on rounds and the team returned to the station around 2 am on Tuesday.
While Raghavendra went to his chamber at the first floor of the building, constables Shafi, Manju and the inspector’s jeep driver Venkatesh stayed at the ground floor.
“Around 6 am on Tuesday, the inspector’s wife Chaitra tried to contact him on his mobile phone, as he had not returned home in the morning. When he did not answer her calls, Chaitra rang up the landline phone at the police station and Shafi answered the call.
She requested him to go and check on Raghavendra and ask him to call back. Shafi went to the inspector’s chamber, but was shocked to see him lying dead in his seat. He had shot himself in the temporal peak. Later, the information was passed to the senior officers,” an official source said.
On knowing the information, central range IGP Seemanth Kumar Singh, Kolar district SP Dr Divya Gopinath and other senior officers rushed to the spot and examined the scene. Divya told reporters that the exact reason for the suicide was not yet known and the police was investigating all angles.
Quarrel with wife
Police sources said Raghavendra had reportedly fought with his wife Chaitra, who also happened to be his niece, on Monday before leaving for night duty. “The reason for the quarrel is not known. Even in the four page suicide note he has left, he has written only about his son and not mentioned a word about his wife. He has also said he is responsible for this death. This suggests that the family issues drove him to suicide. But it needs to be investigated,” an official said.
Raghavendra was living alone at a rented house in SLV Layout on Araleri Road, while his wife and one-year-old son Omkar was living with her parents from the last few months. On Monday, Chaitra along with Omkar had come to his house.
Lokayukta case
Raghavendra was trapped by the Lokayukta police while accepting bribe from a person, while he was working as SI in Sarjapura police station in 2014. Though he was acquitted by the court, the Lokayukta police had questioned the order, sources added.
