Sachin Pangal's death note also mentioned a conspiracy to kill BJP leaders.
Published Dec 30, 2024 | 11:59 PM ⚊ Updated Dec 30, 2024 | 11:59 PM
Bidar District Minister Eshwar Khandre held talks with contractor Sachin Panchal's family at Bhalki recently. (supplied)
On Thursday, 26 December, a 26-year-old civil contractor in the Bidar district of Karnataka, Sachin Panchal, ended his life by throwing himself in front of a train.
A suicide note attributed to Panchal, which South First has seen, named several Congress leaders and alleged that he had been defrauded and harassed by them.
In the seven-page suicide note that he is supposed to have written, Sachin Panchal levelled grave allegations against Minister Priyank Kharge’s close associate, Raju Kapanoor, and several Congress leaders, accusing them of financial fraud.
He mentions that he was threatened and harassed by them.
Karnataka Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Priyank Kharge denied the allegations and wrote to the chief minister appealing that the case be handed over to the state Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
State home minister G Parameshwara clarified on Monday that the case would indeed be probed by the CID.
Deputy CM DK Shivakumar blamed the BJP and said false allegations were being made against his colleague.
Bidar district minister Eshwar Khandre announced Rs 10 lakh compensation to the victim’s family.
The BJP, however, demands that Kharge resign and that the matter be probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
The suicide note attributed to the young civil contractor named Congress leader Raju Kapanoor, a close aide of state cabinet minister Priyank Kharge, who holds the Rural Development and Panchayati Raj portfolio.
Contractor Sachin Panchal committed suicide at Bhalki on 26 December. (Supplied)
Since the suicide occurred on railway tracks, a case had been registered by Bidar Railway Police.
In what is being seen as his suicide note, Sachin Panchal said Congress leaders defrauded him of about Rs 15 lakh to secure contracts and threatened him and his family.
An official at the Bidar Railway Police, who is not authorised to speak to the media and sought anonymity, told South First: “We have already received instructions to hand over the case to CID. We are in the process of handover.”
“We had registered a case on the charges of abetment of suicide and criminal intimidation,” he said, adding that the probe was about to begin, but the case was then handed over to the CID.
“Congress leader and former corporator Raju Kapanoor, Block Congress Campaign Committee president Nandakumar Nagabhujange, Kalaburagi’s Zilla Panchayat former vice-president Goraknath S Chinchansur, history-sheeter Pratap Patil, Solapur’s Shiv Sena district president Manoj S, Unity Infra Build Managing Director Vikas HM, Project Manager Vinay, and Class-I Contractor Ramangouda Patil are responsible for my decision to end my life,” the contractor had allegedly written.
“I worked as a project engineer at Unity Infra Build for the past three years. During this time, I came to know Satish Rathnakar, who introduced me to Raju Kapanoor. Our MD Vikas HM had submitted a tender for works worth ₹12 crore under RWSSD (Rural Drinking Water and Sanitation Department). Raju Kapanoor assured us that he would help us secure the tender.”
Stating that Kapanoor demanded a commission for winning the tender, he alleged: “Raju demanded a 5% commission to get the tender awarded in our favour. Raju claimed that Minister Priyank Kharge would back his assurances and that the Minister would not go back on his word.”
“We travelled to Bengaluru five or six times and met with the minister, who, during one of the meetings, instructed Chief Engineer Izaz Hussain over a phone call to ensure the tender was awarded to us.”
“Raju Kapanoor demanded ₹60 lakh, which is 5% of the total work order. I had paid ₹10 lakh in advance. However, we did not receive the tender. Raju assured us that he would help us get another tender. We subsequently submitted a tender for another project worth ₹15 crore, but this too was not awarded to us,” Sachin said.
“Our MD, Vikas HM, then asked Raju to ensure the clearance of our pending bills worth ₹3 crore in Kalaburagi and Bidar. Raju got the work done after speaking with the minister, who instructed RDPR’s (Rural Development and Panchayati Raj) Chief Secretary over the phone to clear only the bills related to Bidar. For this, Raju demanded ₹10 lakh. I transferred ₹5 lakh from my account to Raju’s wife Santoshi’s SBI account.”
“Meanwhile, our MD falsely claimed that he had submitted tenders for projects under KIADB (Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board) and Zoo Kalaburagi. Upon verifying with Kalaburagi DCP Samith Patil, I learned that no tenders had been submitted. The tender allocated to me was cancelled, and the EMD (Earnest Money Deposit) amount was forfeited,” he said, “When I inquired further in Bengaluru, I discovered that Raju Kapanoor and his associates had defrauded us without submitting any tenders.”
He alleged that he was threatened by Raju Kapanoor and gang.
“I undertook works worth ₹50 lakh at Babladi Matha under KRIDL (Karnataka Rural Infrastructure Development Ltd) and invested ₹25 lakh in the project. Out of the total amount received for the project, I was paid only ₹8 lakh. The gang threatened to take the remaining ₹42 lakh,” Sachin Panchal allegedly wrote.
The suicide note states that the threats and the possible consequences to himself from false cases of atrocity “caused immense mental harassment.”
“The gang also harassed my family, threatening to file false atrocity cases against us. They have caused immense mental harassment to my family and me,” Panchal wrote.
The death note also makes explosive claims that Raju Kapanoor and his gang have been making attempts to kill BJP leaders including MLA Basavaraj Mattimudu.
Sachin alleged in the note: “Raju Kapanoor and his gang — including Nandakumar Nagabhujange, Goraknath Sajjan, Ramanagouda Patil, Pratap Patil, and Manoj S — have conspired to kill the following individuals: Kalaburagi’s Hindu leader Andol Swami, BJP leaders Chandu Patil, Manikanth Rathod, and MLA Basavaraj Mattimudu.”
He claimed that the rural development and panchayati raj minister, Priyank Kharge, had thrown his weight behind the criminal gangs of students.
“Despite being exiled from the district, Raju influenced a judge to obtain a stay order. The gang also plotted to end Hanumanth Yalasangi’s political career. They even coerced three or four women to file false rape cases against him, with the help of Nandakumar Nagabhujange,”Sachin wrote in his last message.
Based on a complaint of BJP Kalaburagi district unit president Chandrakanth B Patil, the Kalaburagi City Police booked Raju Kapanoor and five others on charges of criminal intimidation.
After learning from contractor Sachin Patil’s death note that Raju Kapanoor and gang planned to kill BJP leaders, BJP leader Chandrakanth Patil filed a complaint before the Station Bazar Police Station in Kalaburagi city.
An FIR was registered against Raju Kapanoor, Nandakumar Nagabhujange, Goraknath Sajjan, Pratap Patil, Manoj S and Ramangouda Patil under Section 351(2) – criminal intimidation – of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.
In his complaint, BJP leader Patil pointed to Sachin’s death note mentioning his father and also the gang that was allegedly out to kill Andola Swami, Mankinath Rathod, and MLA Basavaraj Muttimod.
In his letter to the state chief minister on 27 December, Priyank Kharge termed contractor Sachin Panchal’s suicide an “unfortunate incident”.
“There are several issues about the case being deliberated in public. To ascertain facts, the case should be handed over to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID),” Kharge said.
The minister said he had no information about Sachin Panchal’s suicide.
“The statements made by the accused named in this case are of one kind, while the contents of the alleged death note written by Sachin appear to be of another nature,” Kharge said.
He stated that the Railway Police have already registered a case, and investigative agencies will conduct a thorough and effective inquiry to uncover the truth.
“Making false accusations is an old habit of the BJP. In the past, they have made baseless allegations against me, they are doing so now, and they will continue to do so in the future. Let the BJP continue their attempts. Their efforts to weaken me with unfounded allegations will not succeed,” Kharge said.
#Karnataka: Minister @PriyankKharge writes to Chief Minister @siddaramaiah to hand over the Bidar contractor Sachin Panchal’s suicide case to the CID.
This after @BJP4Karnataka demanded a CBI probe.Bidar’s contractor Sachin Panchal took an extreme step over the alleged… pic.twitter.com/0XHGZRjUyV
— South First (@TheSouthfirst) December 30, 2024
After his name surfaced in the contractor suicide case, Priyank Kharge had claimed that he has no information regarding the background of Sachin Panchal’s suicide case. “The statements made by the accused named in this case are of one kind, while the contents of the alleged death note written by Sachin appear to be of another nature,” pointed out Kharge.
He stated that the Railway Police have already registered a case, and investigative agencies will conduct a thorough and effective inquiry to uncover the truth behind this incident.
“Making false accusations is an old habit of the BJP. In the past, they have made baseless allegations against me, they are doing so now, and they will continue to do so in the future. Let the BJP continue their attempts. However, their efforts to weaken me with unfounded allegations will not succeed,” Kharge had hit out at the BJP.
Responding to the allegations on the RDPR Minister, Deputy CM DK Shivakumar denied the involvement of his cabinet colleague Kharge in the contractor Sachin Panchal’s suicide case. He blamed the BJP for the allegations and stated that investigation will be carried out in this case.
The Deputy CM also hinted that the state government is all likely to give the case to the CID instead of CBI, which is being demanded by the opposition parties.
The BJP’s Karnataka unit demanded the resignation of Minister Priyank Kharge and a CBI probe into the suicide.
BJP Karnataka unit president BY Vijayendra told reporters in Bengaluru: “Minister Priyank Kharge, who used to portray himself as the only one who could be the voice of the oppressed by preaching and peddling ideologies to the entire village, has had his true face exposed by this incident.”
“CM Siddaramaiah used to demand the resignation of those in power in similar cases when he was in the opposition. He should immediately seek the resignation of Priyank Kharge, who, along with his aides and commission collectors, are responsible for the suicide of an innocent contractor,” the BJP’s Karnataka unit stated, calling for Kharge’s resignation.
BY Vijayendra, president of the BJP state unit in Karnataka, said, “The chief minister must allow the investigation to be conducted transparently, in the wake of an incident that took place under his watch. The case should be handed over to the CBI,” Vijayendra said.
Vijayendra has also formed an Andholan Samiti under the leadership of Opposition leader Chalavadi Narayanaswamy in the state legislative council to pursue justice for the young contractor.
Vijayendra, Narayanaswamy and other BJP leaders visited the kin of the young contractor at their home in Bhalki taluk of Bidar district on 29 December, assuring them of all support as they struggle for justice.
ಅಹಿಂದ ನಾಯಕ ಎಂದು ಹೇಳಿಕೊಳ್ಳುವ ಮುಖ್ಯಮಂತ್ರಿ ಸಿದ್ದರಾಮಯ್ಯನವರೇ, ಹಿಂದುಳಿದ ವರ್ಗಗಳ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಕಿಂಚಿತ್ತಾದರೂ ಕಾಳಜಿಯಿದ್ದರೆ ಮುಖ್ಯಮಂತ್ರಿ ಸ್ಥಾನ ಕಳೆದುಕೊಳ್ಳುವ ಭಯದಿಂದ ಹೊರಬಂದು ಸಚಿವ ಪ್ರಿಯಾಂಕ್ ಖರ್ಗೆ ಅವರ ರಾಜೀನಾಮೆ ಪಡೆದು ಆತ್ಮಹತ್ಯೆಗೆ ಶರಣಾಗಿರುವ ಗುತ್ತಿಗೆದಾರ ಸಚಿನ್ ಪಾಂಚಾಳ ಅವರ ಪ್ರಕರಣವನ್ನು ಸಿಬಿಐ ತನಿಖೆಗೆ ವಹಿಸಬೇಕೆಂದು… pic.twitter.com/EOGiNLCWCM
— Office of BY Vijayendra (@OfficeofBYV) December 30, 2024
(Edited by Rosamma Thomas)
