Ramesh Gowda suicide: Hunt on for official, driver

Bengaluru: A day after the suicide of Ramesh Gowda, the official driver of the special land acquisition officer Bheema Naik, the Maddur police visited Naik’s office at V.V. Towers in Bengaluru to collect details about his permanent and temporary addresses, as mentioned in the service records and DPAR records.

The police found that Bheema was working in the Revenue Department under the Deputy Commissioner’s office and the attendance records were collected. It was learnt that Bheema had not attended office over the last four days, the police said. The investigating team also collected details about his phone numbers and bank accounts, police sources told this newspaper.

The police also enquired with the staff at the VV Towers office whether Bheema and Ramesh had any tiff at the office. The police did not get much information regarding where he could have gone hiding. “Both Bheema and his personal driver Mohammad are absconding. Their phones are not reachable. We have contacted their respective family members too and informed them to tell us if they know of the two’s whereabouts,” said a senior police officer. Both of them were residents of Yelahanka in North Bengaluru.

“Currently the investigations are carried out by the Maddur police into the FIR that has been registered booking the two (Bheema Naik and Mohammad) for abetment of suicide. We have also shared the information about the money laundering with the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) and based on our collective decision, we will take a legal opinion as to whether the money laundering sections need to be added to the FIR, after investigations and collection of evidence take place,” said Sudhir Kumar Reddy, Superintendent of Police, Maddur to DC.

Sources in the Revenue Department hinted that Bheema will remain absconding until he secures a bail from the Court. However the police pointed out that as this was a non-bailable offence, the accused might surrender directly before the court and we are trying our best to trace and arrest them, an investigating officer said.

CM warns of stern action
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah assured on Thursday that the suicide of Ramesh, the driver of KAS officer, Bheem Naik was being investigated and stern action would be taken against those who may have abetted it.

The deceased driver’s brother had registered a complaint with the jurisdictional police and it was investigating the suicide, he told reporters here.

Ramesh has in his suicide note alleged that Mr  Naik had helped mining baron turned politician, Janardhan Reddy convert Rs 125 crore in black money to white before his daughter’s lavish wedding in Bengaluru last month. He claimed he was taking his own life as he was under constant threat from the officer, who was afraid he would expose the transaction.