BENGALURU: Considering the allegations of businesswoman S Jeeva in her death note and another accused in the Karnataka Bhovi Development Corporation scam that CID deputy superintendent of police (DySP) Kanaka Lakshmi BM stripped them and examined their private parts suspecting them of carrying cyanide and recording devices, the High Court of Karnataka has constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the charges.
The SIT will be headed by the superintendent of police (SP), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Bengaluru. It will probe the charges of abetment to suicide as well as the demand for bribe by the accused DySP and submit a report within three months.
Justice M Nagaprasanna pronounced the order while dismissing a petition filed by Kanaka Lakshmi, questioning the legality of the crime registered against her by advocate Sangeetha S, sister of Jeeva.
The court rejected the appeal by the Advocates’ Association of Bengaluru in the impleading application to refer the impugned crime to the CBI.
The court directed the state to constitute the SIT with Vinayak Verma, SP, CBI, Bengaluru, as its head, Hakay Akshay Manchhindra, SP, Home Guards, and Nisha James, SP, Internal Security Division, Bengaluru, as members.
The court noted that if the affidavit of M Yashaswini, accused No 7, and the death note of Jeeva, accused No 8, are read in tandem, the nature of torture is identical. Jeeva ended her life because of the alleged torture. Accused No 7 narrated similar torture. Therefore, these allegations should be investigated thoroughly.
The court said the other offence alleged is the one punishable under Section 7(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. This offence is on account of the allegation in the complaint that Kanaka Lakshmi demanded Rs 25 lakh from Jeeva and she had told this to the complainant.
While probing the offence of abetment to suicide, if the SIT finds evidence related to the demand for Rs 25 lakh, it should take up investigation under Section 7(a) of the Act, the court said.