H D Deve Gowda, the former prime minister of the country, is back in the news. And again, for wrong reasons.
A 23-year-old man committed suicide after his car collided with Gowda's car, creating a stir in Bangalore.
Gowda is feeling the heat, though he is not to be blamed directly for the incident.
Ramesh, 23, a resident of Padmanabhanagar in Bangalore, and a neighbour of Gowda, set out on Wednesday morning not knowing what was in store for him.
The Maruti 800, which he was driving, hit against the Chevrolet Forester SUV in which Gowda was travelling in.
There was a small dent on Gowda's car. However, this did not end there. Ramesh took the extreme step and committed suicide.
There are various angles that are being thrown into this case. A section of the Janata Dal (S) workers claims that Ramesh was a big fan of Gowda's and he was upset that he accidentally hit the car, a result of which he took the extreme step. However, his family and friends do not buy this story.
His family and friends claim that Gowda's driver and some party workers went to Ramesh's house and threatened him and his family.
They told him to cough up Rs 25,000 as damages. Family members, who were inconsolable, told rediff.com that they paid just Rs 10,000, but the workers told them that in case they did not cough up the rest of the money, they would go to the police.
Ramesh's family, which stays just a block away from Gowda's residence at Padmanabhanagar in Bangalore, say that they want to end the matter.
"We have lost a key member and nothing will bring him back," said one of the family members, who sought anonymity.
Harish, Ramesh's brother, said Gowda's supporters did not use force.
Though the people blame Gowda's men for his death, none of the supporters had the courtesy to attend the funeral which was held on Thursday.
After the funeral was held, Gowda offered to pay Rs 1 lakh as compensation, but this was turned down by the family.
For the friends of the deceased, the news is a shock. They wonder why he had to take the extreme step over such a trivial issue.
Some family members say that Ramesh had been abused by Gowda's driver and gunman, which led to his death.
The question that needs to be answered is why Gowda's men reacted so sharply to such a minor accident.
Gowda, being highly superstitious, was very upset that the accident took place on the ninth day of the month. Gowda's astrologers have told him in the past that the ninth day of the month is lucky for him. Sources said he was extremely upset as a result of which his men decided to target Ramesh.
Gowda, however, remained non-committal on the issue and said that he alone knew the truth and would tell all at the right time.
A Janata Dal (S) leader said that accidents happen and none can blame Gowda for it.
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