Chennai: A suicide note written by KR Subramaniam, health minister C.Vijayabhaskar's aide who killed himself in his farm in Namakkal on Monday, suggests that he ended his life due to extreme pressure from an income-tax official who wanted him to accept that he had carried out money transactions as a benami of the minister.
Besides naming a deputy director of the income-tax department based in Chennai for his decision to end his life, Subramaniam also named a former AIADMK minister and a senior IAS official as being responsible for his decision to consume poison. Without naming him, he said an IG rank IPS officer had also harassed him.
Not just that; Subramaniam also named his former partner in business and alleged he too was harassing him as he quit the partnership to launch on his own and managed to get government contracts for his now-independent construction company.
"My family was very upset from the time the IT raid happened (April 7). When I went to the IT officer's room (in Chennai office) in response to the summons, I was treated like a thief", said the 59-year-old contractor in the suicide note. Naming his 'tormenter', he alleged that the IT official had pressured him to admit he was the minister's benami. "He wanted me to accept all he said and threatened to finish me if I refuse to tow his line. All this forced me to decide to end my life". Subramani allegedly committed suicide by drinking pesticide at his coconut farm 20 km from his house.
It may be recalled that income tax officials raided Subrumaniam's residence simultaneously when they launched the searches at the properties belonging to Dr Vijayabhaskar, his relatives and associates. The department had carried out raids in over 35 locations in Tamil Nadu. During the raid, several incriminating documents were reportedly seized by the I-T sleuths from Subramaniam's residence. At the time of the raids, Subramaniam was away in Switzerland and was summoned by the 'harassing' IT official on his return.
It was believed that he was close to the health minister. As a contractor who was running Abirami Engineering Construction & Co, he often managed to get tenders for government buildings funded by the state health ministry. He had recently completed the Pudukottai medical college building.
