The Telangana Police has arrested Ramayampet Municipal Council Chairman Jithendar Goud and five others in connection with the deaths of a realtor named Santhosh and his mother, Padma, allegedly due to their harassment.
The police had earlier booked Jithendar Goud and six others for abetment of suicide, after they were named in Santhosh’s suicide note.
On Tuesday, 19 April, police arrested Jithender Goud, Agriculture Market Committee Chairman Saraf Yadagiri, and their associates Prithvi Raj, T Kiran, Krishna Goud, and S Swaraj. The seventh accused, Circle Inspector Nagarjuna Goud, is yet to be arrested.
Gangam Santhosh, a real estate businessman from Ramayampet in Medak district, and his mother Padma allegedly died by suicide at a lodge in the district headquarters town of Kamareddy in Telangana on Saturday.
Video Uploaded by the Deceased
In a selfie video posted on social media, Santosh showed pictures of seven people, saying they were responsible for their death. He said that although he complained to the police against these persons, no action was taken as they belonged to the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS).
Those named by him allegedly harmed his business and made life difficult for him, police said. A case was registered following a complaint by the family members of the deceased.
According to Santhosh’s family members, Jithender Goud, Yadagiri and their henchmen, as well as CI Nagarjuna Goud, who had been posted in Ramayampet until recently, had been harassing and extorting money from Santhosh for several months.
Santhosh alleged in his selfie video that the police officer tried to falsely implicate him in a case over an anonymous Facebook page posting about illegal land encroachments and other such activities in Ramayampet.
Meanwhile, a group of people, expressing solidarity with the deceased, held a protest at the residence of Ramayampet municipal chairman Jithender Goud who has been named by the deceased realtor, police said. The protesters sought action in the incident, they said. They dispersed after police assured them that action would be taken as per law.
(Published in arrangement with The News Minute.)
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