FIR against three top officials of K'taka tribal devt corp as accounts officer dies by suicide
Shivamogga (PTI): A 48-year-old accounts superintendent of the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation (KMVSTDC) is suspected to have died by suicide at his residence in his hometown here, police said on Tuesday.
Chandrasekaran P, who is posted in Bengaluru, purportedly left a six-page note before hanging himself from a ceiling fan at his residence on Sunday evening, they said.
In the purported suicide note, he has held three of his senior colleagues responsible for his death as well as the alleged misappropriation of around Rs 87 crore, police said.
"He has mentioned about misappropriation of around Rs 87 crore through various depositions and the reasons behind his extreme step. He alleged that he was 'harassed' by his three colleagues who allegedly used him for 'misappropriation of funds for personal gains'.
"Later, when he came to know that if an inquiry is initiated and an FIR is registered against him, he would be jailed and that also prompted him to take this drastic step," a senior police officer said.
The deceased accused his senior officers of forcing him to open a parallel bank account to divert unaccounted money from the corporation's primary account, he said in the note.
He also alleged that he was directed by a minister and an officer to open a “sweep-in and sweep-out account” that allowed customers to transfer funds between savings and current accounts and link fixed deposit accounts at a bank branch on M G Road in Bengaluru, the police officer said.
According to the police, he returned from Bengaluru to his hometown on Friday for the weekend and he died by suicide on Sunday when no one was home. The incident came to light the same evening when his wife Kavitha and son returned home from Bhadravati where they had gone to attend a family function.
"Initially, we registered a case of unnatural death at Vinoba Nagar police in Shivamogga but later, when we recovered the death note, we registered a case under 306 (abetment of suicide) of the Indian Penal Code against the three government officials," the officer said.
The accused government employees are currently absconding, he added.
According to Scheduled Tribes Welfare Minister B Nagendra, the case has been handed over to the CID and an FIR has been registered against KMVSTDC Managing Director J G Padmanabha, Durganna and Suchismita.
“Whoever is involved in it and however influential they are, we will not spare them. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and the Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar have taken it seriously. If the forensic report says that the MD had signed on it, then we will suspend him. We will not let the leakage of public money happen,” the minister said at a press conference.
Nagendra said the scam was perpetrated while transferring money from one bank to another.
“Close to Rs 87 crore was transferred. So far Rs 28 crore has been recovered. We have spoken to the chairman and directors of the Union Bank of India, and everyone has said that they will refund Rs 50 crore by Tuesday evening,” the minister said.
Mahazar (spot inspection) has been done, police said adding that the purported suicide note and the mobile phone of the deceased accounts officer has been seized for further investigation.
Home Minister G Parameshwara has said that Crime Investigation Department will investigate to see what has transpired.
His death triggered a political row in the state with Leader of Opposition R Ashoka demanding the sacking of Minister Nagendra.
Karnataka BJP chief B Y Vijayendra alleged that Congress leaders were indulging in corruption under the disguise of working for Dalits and tribal communities.
"The Scheduled Tribes Welfare Department Minister B Nagendra should be dismissed from the cabinet immediately and I demand a transparent investigation into the officer's death," he posted on social media platform X in Kannada.
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Canada is already examining tariffs on certain US items following Trump's tariff threat
Toronto (AP/PTI): Canada is already examining possible retaliatory tariffs on certain items from the United States should President-elect Donald Trump follow through on his threat to impose sweeping tariffs on Canadian products, a senior official has said.
Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on products from Canada and Mexico if the countries don't stop what he called the flow of drugs and migrants across southern and northern borders. He said he would impose a 25 per cent tax on all products entering the U.S. from Canada and Mexico as one of his first executive orders.
But Trump posted Wednesday evening on Truth Social that he had a "wonderful conversation" with new Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and she "agreed to stop Migration through Mexico".
"Mexico will stop people from going to our Southern Border, effective immediately. THIS WILL GO A LONG WAY TOWARD STOPPING THE ILLEGAL INVASION OF THE USA. Thank you!!!" Trump posted.
It was unclear what impact the conversation will have on Trump's plan to impose tariffs.
In Canada, a government official said on Wednesday that Canada is preparing for every eventuality and has started thinking about what items to target with tariffs in retaliation. The official stressed no decision has been made. The person spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to speak publicly.
When Trump imposed higher tariffs during his first term in office, other countries responded with retaliatory tariffs of their own. Canada, for instance, announced billions of new duties in 2018 against the US in a tit-for-tat response to new taxes on Canadian steel and aluminum.
Many of the US products were chosen for their political rather than economic impact. For example, Canada imports USD 3 million worth of yogurt from the US annually and most comes from one plant in Wisconsin, home state of then-House Speaker Paul Ryan. That product was hit with a 10 per cent duty.
Another product on the list was whiskey, which comes from Tennessee and Kentucky, the latter of which is the home state of then-Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell.
Trump made the threat Monday while railing against an influx of illegal migrants, even though the numbers at Canadian border pale in comparison to the southern border.
The US Border Patrol made 56,530 arrests at the Mexican border in October alone — and 23,721 arrests at the Canadian one between October 2023 and September 2024.
Canadian officials say lumping Canada in with Mexico is unfair but say they are ready to make new investments in border security and work with the Trump administration to lower the numbers from Canada. The Canadians are also worried about a influx north of migrants if Trump follows through with his plan for mass deportations.
Trump also railed about fentanyl from Mexico and Canada, even though seizures from the Canadian border pale in comparison to the Mexican border. US customs agents seized 43 pounds of fentanyl at the Canadian border last fiscal year, compared with 21,100 pounds at the Mexican border.
Canadian officials argue their country is not the problem and that tariffs will have severe implications for both countries.
Canada is the top export destination for 36 US states. Nearly USD 3.6 billion Canadian (USD 2.7 billion) worth of goods and services cross the border each day. About 60 per cent of US crude oil imports are from Canada, and 85 per cent of US electricity imports are from Canada. Canada is also the largest foreign supplier of steel, aluminum and uranium to the US and has 34 critical minerals and metals that the Pentagon is eager for and investing in for national security.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau held a emergency virtual meeting on Wednesday with the leaders of Canada's provinces. He stressed they need to present a united front.
"I don't want to minimize for a moment the gravity of the challenge we now face," Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said. "Now is really a moment for us not to squabble amongst ourselves."
The provincial premiers want Trudeau to negotiate a bilateral trade deal with the United States that excludes Mexico.
Sheinbaum, Mexico's president, said earlier Wednesday that her administration is already working up a list of possible retaliatory tariffs "if the situation comes to that."
She later said she talked to Trump and had "an excellent conversation".
