KJ George had resigned from the cabinet after the policeman's suicide
Highlights
- Karnataka police officer committed suicide, blamed KJ George in note
- George was then Home Minister, now handles Urban Planning
- Supreme Court orders CBI to complete inquiry in 3 months
KJ George, a senior minister in Karnataka, will be investigated by the CBI to determine if he tortured a police officer who killed himself in July last year.
Karnataka is governed by the Congress. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said, "We have not yet got the copy, I will react". He was referring to the Supreme Court order which asks for the investigation to be completed within three months. Karnataka must vote before May next year.
Mr George, 63, had been accused in the suicide note of MK Ganapathi of torturing him; he was at the time the state's Home Minister; he now handles urban development for the IT hub of Bengaluru.
The Supreme Court today ordered the CBI to investigate the suicide, as demanded by both the opposition BJP and the family of the police officer who was found hanging hours after a TV interview in which he accused Mr George and other officials in the Home Ministry of harassing him. The police officer was being investigated for corruption and fake encounters or extra-judicial killings.
Mr George had resigned from the cabinet after the policeman's suicide, but returned to office with a different portfolio after he was cleared by the crime branch of the state police. "There was an inquiry by the local police. I voluntarily resigned from my post to face the CID inquiry. Then I was cleared by the CID. Now the CBI inquiry has been ordered. I welcome it," he told NDTV, adding that he will not resign for this probe.
In 2015, Mr George triggered public outrage by questioning if the alleged rape of a woman by two men could be term a gang-rape.
"The BJP has been demanding a CBI probe from the day he was found dead. But the state government to close the case ordered a CID probe which gave a clean chit to George. Now the government has been completely exposed by the Supreme Court order. Mr George should immediately resign," said S Prakash, a BJP spokesperson.