Why are so many officers in Karnataka committing suicide?

Feature

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

The Siddaramaiah led dispensation in Karnataka has run into several problems when it comes to officials. Two cops have committed suicide in one week. Then there was the case of IAS officer D K Ravi who too had committed suicide sometime back. Just a month back, another cop, Anupama Shenoy had alleged interference and stepped down.

The reasons may range from personal to professional, but the government must look into these incidents with a greater perspective. Some officers have cited frustration at work as the main reason while others say it is harassment.

Yesterday Deputy SP, M K Ganapathy committed suicide in Madikeri, Kodagu. Prior to the incident he had spoken to a television channel and blamed a senior police official and a politician. Earlier, another Dy.SP Kalappa Handibag had committed suicide. Another incident was the resignation of Anupama Shenoy a cop who alleged that she was being harassed by officials and politicians.

Time for change in attitude:

In most of the cases, the government has been quick to conclude that the deaths or resignations are due to personal reasons. Even in the case of D K Ravi, the IAS officer who committed suicide, the government had immediately declared the reason to be personal.

Many had termed the statement by the government to be insensitive in nature. Take the handling of the Anupama Shenoy case. She had constantly posted on her social media profile about the harassment being meted out to her. The government did not react and not once an attempt was made to pacify her. It was only when she decided to resign that the government tried coaxing her before accepting her resignation.

The case relating to Ganapathy too is similar. He alleged that he was being harassed by an officer and also be former home minister, K George. The officers who knew him well said that he was not the kind to complain.

The police are now investigating the claims made by him. He was clearly disturbed for sometime over issues relating to the department which made him take the extreme step.

Some officers tell OneIndia that the problem is that the government has been slow at times to react. When officers have complained about harassment by politicians, the government has never taken note. Some officers are able to take it while others decide to either quit in haste or take the extreme step.