Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru

Bengaluru, Sept 30: The investigation into the suicide of BJP worker Vinay Somaiah from Kodagu district has concluded, with the Hennur Police Station filing a 'B' Report (closure report) in the court.

The report, submitted to the court, states that there is no evidence to support the allegation that Congress MLAs from Kodagu, A S Ponnanna (Virajpet constituency) and Manthar Gowda (Madikeri constituency), along with Thannira Maina, the Kodagu district president of the Rajiv Gandhi Panchayat Raj Sanghatana, harassed or threatened Vinay.

The investigating officers have provided a clean chit to all three individuals.

Lack of evidence found

Vinay’s brother, K S Jeevan, had filed a complaint alleging that Vinay took his own life due to harassment and threats. The subsequent investigation found no corroborating evidence for these claims.

Investigators retrieved and analyzed the call detail records of the individuals named in the complaint. Sources indicate that the analysis confirmed no threat calls were made to the deceased's mobile number, leading to the dismissal of the allegations.

Background of the case
Vinay Somaiah, who was an admin of a WhatsApp group named 'Kodagina Samasyegalu Mathu Parihara' (Kodagu's problems and solutions), had an FIR registered against him concerning a message he had posted in the group. It was alleged that he had been threatened by certain individuals after posting the message.

He was found dead by hanging from a fan in a company's warehouse in Nagawara on April 4. A letter written by Vinay before his death had also circulated on social media.

An FIR was initially filed against Thannira Maina at the Hennur police station. Later, BJP leaders pressed for the names of MLAs Ponnanna and Manthar Gowda to also be included in the FIR. Vinay’s suicide had sparked a significant political conflict between the BJP and Congress, leading to large-scale protests, including one in Kushalnagar, Kodagu.