BENGALURU – A 35-year-old worker of India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was found dead by suicide at his office in Bengaluru on Friday, leaving behind a note alleging harassment by political rivals, police said. Vinay Somaiah, a native of Karnataka’s Kodagu district, accused Congress leaders of targeting him with a politically motivated police case, which he said pushed him to take his life.
He had been named in an FIR after an edited image of Congress MLA AS Ponnanna was shared in a WhatsApp group. Although he was made an admin of the group only days before, Vinay was arrested alongside the original sender, later securing bail and a High Court stay on the case.
Despite the legal relief, he claimed in his note that he continued to face pressure and public defamation. “A politically motivated FIR was filed against me, and I was labeled a miscreant in society,” he wrote, naming Congress functionary Tenneera Maheena and MLA Ponnanna as responsible for his ordeal.
His letter also alleged attempts to brand him a criminal, questioning, “How fair is it to keep calling us criminals even after the High Court’s stay?” Vinay appealed to BJP leadership to support his wife, daughter, and elderly mother, urging an end to politically motivated legal cases. “Let my death be a lesson,” he wrote. Police have launched an investigation into the allegations. Congress leaders have not yet responded to the claims.
