Karnataka BJP MLA, 5 others booked based on businessman’s suicide note

BJP MLA Arvind Limbavali and five others have been named in the FIR filed in connection with the death of a businessman near Bengaluru on Sunday, police have said.

The businessman, Pradeep (47), was found dead in his car at Nettigere near Bengaluru on Sunday evening, police said on Monday. Prima facie, it appears that he shot himself in the head. However, he has purportedly left behind an eight-page suicide note, naming the Mahadevapura MLA and the five others, according to the police.

The FIR has been filed based on a complaint lodged by Pradeep’s wife at Kaggalipura police station and the death note. The former Karnataka minister is accused number 3 in the FIR. The other names are Gopi K, Somaiah, Ramesh Reddy G, Jayarama Reddy, and Raghava Bhat.

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Responding to a question about Limbavali, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said, “Action is being taken as per law…actions will follow in the future, too, in accordance with law.”

Limbavali claimed that Pradeep was a BJP worker who had initially handled his social media account. The MLA also claimed that he had only tried to “help” the businessman. He added that he was ready for any inquiry. “In fact, I demand an inquiry for the truth to come out.”

The legislator said he did not know the motive behind mentioning his name in the death note but ruled out the possibility of any conspiracy against him.

Congress barb

Speaking to reporters in Hubballi, Karnataka Congress president DK Shivakumar alleged that the government would soon shut the case by filing a B report. “They did the same for cases involving people who were ministers earlier. Now, they will do the same in the case of Limbavali, too. I know,” he said in a dig at the ruling BJP.

According to the police, Pradeep claimed in the death note that the six accused did injustice to him. He has sought justice and action to be taken against those named.

Pradeep apparently invested about Rs 1.5 crore in an upcoming resort project involving Gopi, Somaiah, and others near HSR Layout, a prominent suburb near Bengaluru. He was apparently promised a stake in it, but was later allegedly cheated, police said.

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Limbavali apparently tried to broker a compromise between them, and an agreement was reached a month ago to pay Pradeep his dues, but the latter did not receive all the money, the police added.

Pradeep had gone to a resort in Nettigere along with his family on Saturday night to celebrate New Year, police said. He reportedly left the resort on Sunday morning, saying he needed to go to Sira. But he went home instead, penned the death note, and returned to the resort, said the police, adding that he shot himself dead in the car in the evening.

Limbavali’s account

Noting that Pradeep had come to his office around June/July 2022 and shared his problem, Limbavali said, “Based on the information and phone numbers he shared, I immediately checked with them (Gopi, Somaiah, and others) and asked them to come to a settlement. They sought time citing COVID, and, as the issue was not resolved even after 15 days, Pradeep again came to me. I then asked them to resolve the issue immediately, as he was in financial distress.”

“Subsequently, at some event, on my asking, Pradeep said his issue was solved and thanked me,” Limbavali told reporters, adding that he knew Gopi, Somaiah, and others, as they are owners of a banquet hall in the city where party events or meetings are usually held.

The MLA said Pradeep had again called him on his mobile phone in August regarding some family dispute and said his wife had filed a case against him in Bellandur police station.

“Since it is a family dispute, I don’t want to go into the details… I had called the police station and asked them to try to solve the issue amicably and help them reach a compromise by involving both parties if the wife agrees. Accordingly, they had reached a compromise,” he claimed.

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Pointing out that dealing with such cases daily is normal for all MLAs, Limbavali said it was unfortunate that this issue had gone to that extent. “Pradeep himself has said in the death note that after my intervention, the parties agreed to give him about Rs 90 lakh. He has mentioned my name for inquiry. I have done pro-people work,” the MLA said.

“That does not mean I will stop helping people in the time of need. I will continue to do my bit to help people. We will have to face certain things in public life,” Limbavali added, clarifying that he did not mediate but asked the parties involved to reach a settlement.

(With agency inputs)