KAMAREDDY: Kamareddy police who, along with Medak police, are investigating the suicide of realtor Gangam Santosh and his mother Padma named Ramayampet Municipal chairman Palle Jithender Goud as Accused 1 (A1) and Inspector Nagarjun Goud as A7.
Forty-year-old Santosh and his mother ended their lives by setting themselves on fire in a lodge in Kamareddy, allegedly due to harassment by seven persons in their home town of Ramayampet in Medak district on Saturday.
On Sunday, Kamareddy and Medak police, led by Bansawada DSP V Jaipal Reddy as the Investigation Officer, started investigating the case and registered a case under IPC Section 306 against all the seven people who Santosh and his mother accused of tormenting them. Police, who named the other five persons named by the victims as A2 to A6, are in the process of collecting evidence against the accused.
A police officer privy to the probe on condition of anonymity said: “The process will take time. The accused will be questioned after collecting the evidence. We will not disclose the day-to-day developments during the course of investigation.”
In a video message, prior to ending their selves, Santhosh and Padma alleged that Jithender Goud and other six persons, including Suraf Yadagiri and then police inspector Nagarjuna Goud, had harassed them.
Meanwhile, Municipal chairman Jithender Goud and Agricultural Market Committee chairman Suraf Yadagiri Goud, who spoke to local media virtually, dismissed the allegations as baseless and claimed that they are innocent.
Jithender Goud said that if he had caused any harm to the family of Santosh he was ready for athma balidanam (self-sacrifice) in Ramayampet town.Describing the two suicides as unfortunate, Jithender Goud and Yadagiri conveyed deep sympathy to family members of the deceased.
“I haven’t committed any mistake or crime. I am in politics from my student days. If I did any harm to Santhosh and his family members, I am ready for athma balidanam in Ramayampet,’’ Jithender Goud said. “If any one proves that I am at fault, I am ready to quit politics. I will also immediately quit as the municipal chairman,” he said and urged leaders of both Congress and BJP to not politicise the issue.