Bengaluru Techie Dies by Suicide After Alleged ₹20-Lakh Extortion Demand from Civic Officials

A 45-year-old former software engineer died by suicide at an under-construction building in Bengaluru's Nallurahalli on Thursday, with his family alleging harassment and torture by civic body officials. Murali Govindaraju's mother alleged that continuous harassment and illegal extortion demands by two individuals pushed her son to kill himself. In a complaint filed with the police, she said that Murali - who lived with his wife Durgadevi and children Kanishtha and Deshita, had purchased a site in Nallurahalli from a relative in 2018. He was in the process of constructing a house on the property. 

On October 25, two people identified as Usha Nambiyar and Shashi Nambiyar, allegedly visited Murali multiple times (around 10 to 15 times) and demanded Rs 20 lakh. When he refused to pay, they allegedly colluded with some Greater Bengaluru Authority officials and repeatedly visited the construction site, subjecting him to mental harassment. On the day of the incident, the complainant alleged that Murali faced renewed pressure to pay the demanded amount. Deeply distressed, he reportedly left home around 6 am and went to the under-construction building. He then killed himself by hanging from an iron hook meant for a ceiling fan.

Police recovered a 10-page suicide note in which he detailed the extortion demands and the alleged torture.  Following a complaint filed by his 61-year-old mother, the Nambiars have been arrested on charges of extortion and abetment to suicide under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Their son, named in the complaint, remains at large as of now. According to police, the trouble began soon after Murali bought the 40 × 60 sq ft plot in 2018 from a close relative of the Nambiars. Locals say the Nambiar couple had a history of raising construction-related complaints and alleged extortion in the area, and the Nambiars reportedly posed as self-appointed “activists."