Hyderabad: A 45-year-old home guard in Nagarkurnool district died by suicide after allegedly consuming pesticide, with conflicting accounts over the circumstances leading to the incident prompting an official enquiry.The deceased, Bayanna, was attached to Koderu police station and hailed from Chenchugudem in Kollapur mandal. According to police, Bayanna had been assigned consecutive bandobust duties for temple festivals. After completing duty at an event in Charakonda mandal, he returned home on Tuesday but was immediately directed to report for another assignment at the Saleshwaram shrine in Achampet. Nagarkurnool DSP Srinivas Rao told TOI that Bayanna did not attend a preparatory meeting for the deployment, following which his absence was officially recorded. He said Bayanna may have been distressed over being marked absent. However, the case took a turn after an audio clip, purportedly recorded shortly before his death, surfaced on social media. In the conversation, Bayanna allegedly told a friend that he had been scolded and humiliated by a sub-inspector using caste-based slurs, and that he was taking the extreme step.Bayanna was found unconscious by locals at a cattle market and shifted to a govt hospital, where he died during treatment. His body was later moved to the district hospital for postmortem. The DSP said a case of suspicious death has been registered and an enquiry is underway. He added that strict action would be taken if any wrongdoing by the sub-inspector is established. Police officials maintained that Bayanna’s absence from duty had been officially noted and could have caused distress, even as allegations of verbal abuse and casteist remarks are being examined as part of the ongoing probe. Bayanna is survived by his second wife, Chennamma, and her son. His first wife had died by suicide three years ago following family disputes.
