A senior police officer in Bengaluru is making headlines for allegedly harassing a businesswoman and demanding a bribe, ultimately abetting her suicide. The woman has been identified as S. Jeeva.
Deputy Superintendent of Police Kanakalakshmi reportedly stripped the 33-year-old victim, demanded a bribe of ₹25 lakh, and humiliated her in front of others, according to an NDTV report. The victim left a death note accusing the police officer of harassment and demanding a bribe.
The report notes that the victim, who was a lawyer by profession, ran a wood material shop in Karnataka's capital and was one of the accused in the Karnataka Bhovi Development Corporation scam. S Jeeva's sister informed the police and filed a complaint after she found her sister's lifeless body.
The investigation agency, CID, took over the charge to probe the Karnataka Bhovi scam. Granting permission to CID to question S Jeeva, the Karnataka High Court allowed interrogation between November 14 and November 23 over videoconferencing. However, the probe agency asked her to appear in person.
An 11-page death note was found at S Jeeva's residence that levelled bribery and harassment charges against the Crime Investigation Department (CID) officer. As the investigation into the crime continues, the Bangalore police registered a case against the prime suspect.
The suicide note revealed that S Jeeva visited the CID office on November 14 for questioning, where she was harassed, stripped and interrogated on whether she was carrying cyanide. The torture that she endured did not end there as the police officer refused to accept S Jeeva's submitted documents and demanded ₹25 lakh bribe.
The victim endured the harassment for days that followed the CID office interrogation. One fine day, the police officer visited S Jeeva's shop and humiliated her in front of her employees, according to the FIR. S Jeeva reportedly committed suicide on November 22.
