Teacher comes to join OPS protest, kills himself

Ashraf Hameed | NT

Bengaluru: Various theories are doing the rounds over the death of a 47-year old teacher, whose mutilated body was recovered from the railway tracks in the city in the wee hours of Thursday.

According to sources, Shankarappa N Boreddy, a mathematics teacher of a state governmentaided school in Sindhanur town of Raichur district, allegedly jumped in front of an incoming train near Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna (KSR) railway station here Wednesday night.

While the exact cause of his death remains uncertain, some have speculated that he had allegedly commmitted suicide due to the state government's failure to respond to their demand for reverting to the Old Pension Scheme (OPS). A probe by the police revealed that Shankarappa Boreddy, a native of Bagalkot, had arrived in Bengaluru on Monday to take part in the protest staged at Freedom Park on Tuesday demanding that the state revert back to the Old Pension Scheme fo teachers.

The Karnataka State Government Employees’ Association has set a sevenday deadline for the State government to announce the implementation of the 7th Pay Commission report and revert to the Old Pension Scheme (OPS), failing which it has announced an indefinite strike from March 1.

"Following the protest, Boreddy had stayed at a friend's house in the city. On Wednesday night, he left his baggage inside his friend's house and reached KSR railway station. However, instead of going inside the station, he went near the railway tracks outside the station premises and jumped before an incoming train," sources told News Trail. Boreddy's friends claimed that they had come to Bengaluru along with him on Monday, but while returning, Boreddy had told them that he would be coming by train.

The police said that Boreddy went to the tracks between KSR railway station and Malleswaram, near Lakshmanpuri. On Wednesday morning, the railway police and the jurisdictional police conducted an inspection of the spot and recovered the body. The police have also found a 2-page death note allegedly written by the deceased.

However the cops later said that the teacher, in his note, has mentioned the reason of his suicide to be personal and financial issues. The city railway station police have registered a case. News Trail spoke to Girijamma, wife of Boreddy who said that her husband was a victim of harassment by a woman named Nandini, who allegedly had taken money from him but later refused to return it to him."

My husband left the house on Monday to take part in the protest. But his mobile phone remained switched off since Tuesday night and I was unable to contact him," she said. After the body was taken back to Bagalkot, local teachers on Thursday paid their last respects to Boreddy. Former Minister SR Patil met the family members and offered condolences.

Meanwhile sources claimed that several teachers and members of the State Government Employees Union who had protested to revoke the New Pension Scheme were assaulted during a meeting held near Cubbon Park on Tuesday evening. A police complaint was also registered regarding the matter. It is unclear whether Boreddy was a present during the scuffle.