The Hindu : Karnataka News : Taluk panchayat official ends life

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jul 04, 2004

Karnataka

Karnataka

Taluk panchayat official ends life

By Our Staff Correspondent

HASSAN, JULY 3. A first-division assistant of the Belur Taluk Panchayat, Basavaraj, who was one of the 50 officials to whom the Corps of Detectives (CoD) had issued notices in connection with the rice diversion racket, committed suicide on Friday.

Basavaraj, who was an employee of the food section of the panchayat, reportedly consumed poison on Friday evening and was admitted to a private nursing home in Hassan, where he died.

In a complaint filed at the Halebeed Police Station, Bhuvanesh, Basavaraj's brother, said Basavaraj drank from a bottle which he thought contained medicine. However, the bottle contained poison. The police have registered a case.

The arrest of 28 government officials by the CoD in Hassan district recently, and the issue of notices to nearly 50 officials, asking them to appear before the CoD in connection with the rice diversion racket have caused anxiety among officials. The Government has suspended all the 19 officials who were arrested recently by the CoD.

Bail plea rejected

Our Mangalore Staff Correspondent reports: The Third Additional District Sessions Judge, Narasimha S. Kulkarni, on Saturday rejected the bail application of Mahadevan, Managing Director of S.S. Maritime. Mahadevan was arrested by the CoD in connection with the recovery of 17,000 tonnes of rice from four private godowns in Mangalore during raids conducted by the district administration in May.

The First Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, M.R. Tulasiram, rejected the bail applications of seven of 19 officials from Hassan.

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