Bangalore: MLA’s daughter hangs self

Mangalore Today News Network

Bangalore, Aug 9, 2013:The eldest daughter of Bharatiya Janata Party MLA from Bommanahalli Assembly constituency Satish Reddy allegedly committed suicide by hanging herself at her residence on Thursday.

Even as the reason behind Gagana’s step is yet to be ascertained, the way the family members got post-mortem done and cremated her within eight hours after the incident has raised several questions.

The police said Gagana had a heated argument with her sister Prerana (9) on Thursday evening. An upset Gagana went upstairs and locked herself inside her room. Family members’ efforts to console her failed.

Around 9:30 pm, her mother Asha went upstairs to call Gagana for dinner. She grew suspicious when Gagana did not respond to the knocks.

Asha raised an alarm and family members broke open the door to see Gagana hanging from the ceiling fan. They immediately informed Reddy, who alerted police. Gagana was taken to a private hospital where doctors declared her brought dead, the police said.

The Madivala police then shifted the body to Victoria Hospital. “We searched for a suicide note, but did not find any,” a senior police officer said.

Doctors at Victoria Hospital conducted post-mortem around 1:30 am and handed over the body to the family. Last rites were performed around 5:30 am on Friday at Reddy’s farm in Begur. The incident was kept under wraps. Even neighbours were not aware of Gagana’s death.

Neither the police nor the family disclosed anything about the death. The police have booked a case of unnatural death under Section 174 of the CrPC, as they were convinced that it was a case of suicide. However, a relative, Anand Reddy, in his complaint, claimed that the argument with her sister might have prompted Gagana to kill herself. Satish Reddy could not be reached for comments.

There were a couple of theories doing the rounds about the incident. Gagana’s family turned furious when it learnt that she was close to a boy.

Reddy lost cool after he spotted Gagana and the boy moving together. He reportedly went to the boy’s house a week ago and warned him against getting closer to his daughter. He had allegedly threatened him of dire consequences. Gagana was upset over the development, according to police sources.

Asha grew suspicious after she noticed her daughter was spending hours speaking to someone on phone. She contacted her friends and learnt that she was having an affair. Gagana had a heated argument after she realised that her mother had contacted her friends and had enquired about the affair, added the sources.

They added that Gagana returned home around 8 pm on Thursday. Thereafter she received a call. Asha reprimanded her for being late and asked her not to move around with boys, considering the family’s reputation. They suspect that an upset Gagana went upstairs and ended her life.

“She was a first year student in the commerce section of our college. We came to know about the tragedy on Friday morning after the media broke the news. She was average in studies and attended classes on Thursday,” Christ College coordinator Verghese told Deccan Herald.