Bengaluru: While grappling to handle the situation of a Congress worker killed in crossfire during Congress-BJP clash over tying Congress banners near BJP leader Gali Janardhan Reddy house, the Ballari SP Pavan Nejjur, who was suspended holding responsible for the incident has committed suicide.
Suspended Officer Had Not Even Assumed Charge as Ballari SP
Interestingly, Pavan Nejjur, who had been posted in non-executive posts for the last 10 years had taken over as Ballari SP on Thursday evening and had not even assumed the office, when he received the suspension order.
Soon after his suspension, Pavan Nejjur went to his friend Haribabu's farmhouse at Handigunte Agrahara near Baragur in Tumkur district. On Monday morning, he consumed a heavy dose of sleeping pills and fell unconscious.
Luckily, Haribabu noticed the sleeping pills bottle and shifted him to Tumkur hospital immediately and was treated. The condition of Pavan Nejjur is said to be stable and he has been shifted to Bengaluru.
Reacting to the incident, Karnataka Home Minister Dr G Parameshwar said that the officer must have got depressed due to the unfortunate episode and reacted to the situation. However, he was safe and there was nothing to worry about.
Congress Government Split Over Responsibility for Ballari Violence
Meanwhile, the Congress government is a divided house over the issue. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who is upset over the incident, refused to talk to Ballari MLA NaRa Bharath Reddy, whose associates started the trouble by entering the residence premises of Gali Janardhan Reddy. The video clippings showed Bharath Reddy's associate Satish Reddy's private gunmen opening fire at will during the clash.
The police have confirmed that the bullet recovered from the deceased Rajashekhar's body did not belong to the department and they were still verifying the weapon, which killed Rajashekhar.
However, the KPCC has rushed to defend NaRa Bharath Reddy. The party has formed a fact finding committee of senior leaders like Jayaprakash Hegde, H M Revanna and others.
KPCC Defends MLA and Forms Fact-Finding Committee
Besides, KPCC President and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said that the party was fully behind its MLA and the culprits of Ballari violence would be brought to justice..
``Ballari was peaceful till Janardhan Reddy was banished from the district and there was no violence in Ballari until he was allowed into Ballari. He doesn't have any right to talk about the violence. Our party will stand behind our MLA Bharat Reddy. The investigations will find out the culprits and strict action will be taken against them,'' Shivakumar said.
