'Political Conspiracy': Congress Denies Involvement in Vinay Somaiah Suicide Case, BJP Launches Protests in Karnataka

Bengaluru: Denying all charges of involvement in the suicide of Karnataka BJP worker Vinay Somaiah, the Indian National Congress has labelled it as a ‘political conspiracy’. 

Vinay Somaiah, who was found hanging inside his private office in Kodagu, had alleged harassment from Congress leaders as the cause of his grave step.

‘Political Conspiracy’: Congress Denies Abetment of Suicide Charges in Vinay Somaiah Death Case

The Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka, DK Shivakumar has denied all charges against the Karnataka MLAs and the political party, levelled by the deceased BJP worker in his suicide note. The Karnataka Deputy CM has instead, labelled the incident and allegations as nothing but a “political conspiracy”. 

Apart from DK Shivakumar, Karnataka Congress MLA AS Ponnanna, who has been named in the suicide note for targeting and harassing Vinay Somaiah, has also alleged that “Karnataka BJP has lost all moral rights” and “there is no need to reply to their allegations”. 

Also Read: ‘Humiliated and Harassed’: What BJP Worker Vinay Somaiah Alleged in His Suicide Note

Giving justifications on why a case was registered against the BJP worker, Ponnanna said, “Whatever has taken place in Vinay's case is unfortunate and shouldn't have happened. But we must understand the reality right? A case was registered against him in February. The police don't register a case, but one of the party leaders goes to court, and they direct for an FIR to be registered.”

He further said, “Why is an FIR ordered? Because there is a derogatory post on social media that is defamatory, and it names three people. But anticipatory bail was granted soon after, and one of the three were called in by the police. The FIR gets stayed immediately, and it remains to this day. What is the kind of mental torture he went through, what's the reason behind it and how did my name come up? I haven't spoken to him a single time, and I have no acquaintance with him.”

BJP Workers Launch Protests Across Karnataka, Demand FIR Registration and Arrest of MLAs

While Congress continues to deny the allegations, calling Vinay Somaiah's suicide note false, BJP workers in Kushalnagar and Kodagu districts of Karnataka have launched protests. The workers are demanding the registration of an FIR and the arrest of the MLAs accused by Somaiah, in his suicide note.

Karnataka BJP Worker Kills Self, Alleges Harassment by Congress Leaders

Vinay Somaiah, the Karnataka BJP worker who was found hanging in his private office in Kodagu on Friday, left behind a handwritten suicide note, detailing the mental and emotional trauma that he had been facing for the past months by specific Congress leaders, who were allegedly harassing and targeting him. 

As per the suicide note, Somaiah was arrested two months ago after a complaint against him over his remarks allegedly targeting AS Ponnanna, CM Siddaramaiah's legal adviser and Virajpet MLA, in a WhatsApp group, was filed by Tennera Maina, a Congress worker. 

Vinay Somaiah was also briefly arrested because he was the admin of that WhatsApp group but in his suicide note, he said that the FIR, which was ‘politically motivated’, was very humiliating for him and his family. An investigation has been launched by the Kodagu Police and the BJP worker's bodty has also been sent for postmortem.