Karnataka Government Worker Commits Suicide After 27 Months Without Salary and Workplace Harassment

Chikoosa Nayaka, employed at the Honganuru Gram Panchayat since 2016, took his own life in front of the panchayat office in Karnataka's Chamarajanagar district. His suicide note cited unpaid wages for 27 months and persistent mental harassment by local officials as the reasons for his desperate action.

In his final message, Nayaka detailed his unsuccessful attempts to resolve the salary issue. "I have been working as the waterman since 2016. I requested the Panchayat Development Officer (PDO) and the Gram Panchayat president to clear my 27-month pending salary, but they ignored me. I even approached the Zilla Panchayat CEO, but nothing happened," he wrote.

Nayaka specifically accused PDO Rame Gowda and Mohan Kumar, husband of the Gram Panchayat president, of subjecting him to continuous psychological torment. His note claimed they forced him to work extended hours from 8 am to 6 pm and required him to find his own replacement whenever he needed leave.

"I am ending my life due to the harassment of the PDO and Mohan Kumar," Nayaka stated, urging authorities to pursue legal action against those responsible.

In response to the incident, police have registered a case under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act against the PDO, the Gram Panchayat president, and her husband. The Zilla Panchayat CEO has also suspended Rame Gowda for negligence and violation of service rules.

The BJP has criticized Chief Minister Siddaramaiah over the incident, stating that another government employee has "fallen victim to the Congress government's suicide fortune." They highlighted that this tragedy follows shortly after a librarian in Kalaburagi died by suicide due to unpaid wages.

"Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, a poor person earning a mere Rs 5,000 a month has been driven to death because you failed to pay his salary for two years. Does your government have no heart at all? No humanity at all? How many more innocent government employees and contractors must become victims of your misgovernance," a BJP representative stated on social media.