Karnataka house Dy Chairman found dead: Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla seeks probe

SL Dharme Gowda’s body was found on railway tracks near Gunasagara of Chikmagalur district, which is his hometown, on Tuesday.

Karnataka news, Karnataka Legislative Council deputy chairperson Dharme Gowda found dead, Karnataka councillor found dead near railway track, Karnataka police, Karnataka government, Indian express

Dharme Gowda is survived by his wife Mamata, a son and a daughter. (Source: Education minister Suresh Kumar facebook)

A day after Karnataka deputy chairperson of the Legislative Council, SL Dharme Gowda, was found dead on railway tracks, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla called for a high-level probe through an independent agency into the death.

In a statement on Wednesday, Birla said he was distressed by the news. “The unfortunate incident in the House, when he was in Chair, is a serious attack on democracy. It is necessary to have a high-level probe through an independent agency into his death. It is the duty of all of us to safeguard the prestige of legislative bodies and dignity and freedom of Presiding officers,” the Speaker said.

Gowda (64) allegedly died by suicide. According to railway police, the JDS legislator’s body was found on railway tracks near Gunasagara in Kadur taluk of Chikmagalur district, which is his hometown, on Tuesday.

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On Monday evening, Gowda had left his farmhouse in Sakkarayapattana village along with his driver in his personal car and did not return. After his worried family started to search for him, the police found his body in the early hours of Tuesday.

Sources said a death note was found near his body, which referred to the recent incident in the Legislative Council. Arasikere Railway Police have registered a case and an investigation is underway.

Gowda was in the news recently after the opposition Congress members pushed him off his chair in the ruckus over a no-confidence motion against the Chairman in the Upper House. Gowda was elected as the vice-chairperson of the council in 2018.

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