Shivamogga, 8 Jan

Mohammed Zakaria, a head Karnataka police constable, died by suicide inside the West Traffic Police Station in Shivamogga after posting a suicide note in a police WhatsApp group on Wednesday night.

Police sources said Zakaria had been on a month-long leave and returned to work just three days before his death. On Wednesday night, he was deployed near the Shivamogga bus stand and later found dead at the police station by Superintendent of Police, Nikhil B and other senior officers.

Shivamogga police have registered a case of unnatural death at Doddapete police station. SP Nikhil said that Zakaria explicitly mentioned Head Constable Naseer Ahmed in his WhatsApp suicide note.

In the note, Zakaria, who had served the department for 26 years, alleged that Ahmed had subjected him to mental harassment over the past year, frequently picking arguments and publicly defaming him.

Zakaria also wrote that he had not shared workplace issues with his family but had confided in his friend and brother.