BENGALURU, 25 NOV

A Deputy Superintendent of Police has been booked after a woman lawyer died by suicide accusing the officer of stripping her while conducting interrogation in Karnataka Bhovi Development Corporation scam. She also accused the DySP of demanding Rs 25 lakh as a bribe.

Banashankari police registered a case against Kanakalakshmi, DySP of Criminal Investigation Department, based on a suicide note by 33-year-old lawyer Jeeva S who was found dead at her residence in Raghavendra Layout in the City on 22 November. City Commissioner of Police B Dayananda has ordered an inquiry by Central Crime Branch against the accused police officer.

According to police, on 18 March, 2023, a case was registered at Siddapura police station in the City based on a complaint by one Suryakalavathi KN. She alleged that she paid Rs 25,000 as a bribe to two women of her own locality, Saraswathi and Lakshmi, after Rs 50,000 was credited to her account as a loan from Bhovi Development Corporation in November 2021. In December 2022, the corporation officials told her that she would have to repay for Rs 5 lakh loan taken by her. Suryakalavathi went to the bank and found that Rs 5 lakh was deposited by the Corporation. Of the Rs 5 lakh, Rs 4.75 lakh was transferred to New Dreams Enterprises.

During the course of investigation, several people were interrogated and one among them was advocate Jeeva. Jeeva’s sister Sangeetha S alleged that her sister was stripped in order to check whether she carried cyanide. Jeeva, accused of benefiting from misappropriated funds intended for employment schemes under the corporation, left behind an 11-page note accusing Kanakalakshmi of harassment.

Allegedly, Jeeva was interrogated in person on 14 November, despite a High Court directive allowing remote questioning. Her family has claimed this interrogation led to her tragic death.

CID had been probing Jeeva’s financial transactions as part of a broader investigation into the misappropriation of Rs 97 crore in government funds between 2021 and 2022. These funds were reportedly transferred to fake beneficiaries under an employment scheme. A CID officer said, "The questioning was based on evidence collected in the scam investigation." –Salar News with Agencies