Inquiry panel hands over report in Ganapathi case

The commission of inquiry headed by former High Court judge K.N. Keshavanarayana that probed the death of Deputy Superintendent of Police M.K. Ganapathi submitted its 320-page report to the State government on Monday. The commission was set up in July 2016 after Ganapathi was found hanging in a room at a lodge in Madikeri on July 7, 2016. Ganapathi had blamed the then Home Minister K.J. George and senior IPS officers A.M. Prasad and Pranob Mohanty for his death in an interview hours before his death. After a furore, Mr. George was forced to resign from the Cabinet. On Monday, Mr. Keshavanarayana handed over the report to Additional Chief Secretary Subash Chandra in the presence of Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy. “It is now left to the government to take action on the report, either by placing it in the public domain or holding it back,” Mr. Keshavanarayana said, adding that the statements of 48 witnesses and two police officers (investigating officers) were recorded by the commission. “I cannot reveal anything about the commission’s report. It is now with the government,” he said. On why the accused had not been questioned before finalising the report, the retired judge said: “Nobody was there as an accused before the commission. It is not a court and there was also no allegation. This was a fact-finding body. We have explained what happened, and we have also given a set of recommendations.” He also informed the Minister that whatever had been received from the CID, which also investigated the case, was handed over to the JMFC court in Madikeri. Mr. Chandra said the report would be reviewed and would “most likely” be placed before the Cabinet. Source: The Hindu