A 45-year-old software engineer allegedly died by suicide, complaining of sustained harassment and extortion demands from neighbours and Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) officials.
The deceased, a resident of Brookbong Layout in Whitefield, was found dead in his under-construction house at Nallurahalli on Wednesday morning. The victim, father of two minor daughters, left behind a 10-page suicide note detailing the alleged torture he endured.
After finding his death note, the police have registered a case against one Shashi Nambiar, 64, his wife Usha Nambiar, 57, and their son Varun on charges of abetting suicide and extortion. While Varun is on the run, Usha and Shashi Nambiar have been arrested and sent to 14-day judicial custody.
The victim, who has been trying to build a house in a 40X60 square feet plot since 2018, accused the Nambiar family and GBA officials of repeatedly harassing him in the name of building regulation violations to extort Rs 20 lakh.
The mother of the suicide victim stated in the complaint, “My son was being harassed constantly after he started constructing the house. Usha and Shashi used to trouble him and demanded Rs 20 lakh from him. When my son refused to pay, they started filing unnecessary complaints with GBA (then BBMP), citing violations. The GBA officials used to send notices pushing my son into hardship.”
“With complaints and notices, eventually, the Nambiar family had set a deadline on Wednesday to pay Rs 20 lakh…” the complaint added.
A police officer said that the Nambiar family are ‘self-proclaimed’ activists who have not only harassed the suicide victim but also many others.
Story continues below this ad
Following the death of the victim, several others also complained that they were harassed by the Nambiars. The Whitefield police have asked the public to inform them if the accused persons were troubling any other person.