TP member attempts suicide over prez’s post

Chikkamagaluru: A taluk panchayat member of NR Pura allegedly attempted suicide after she was denied the president’s post. Zubeda, 45, had shared a status message on WhatsApp before trying to end her life, sources claimed. Police are yet to an file FIR. Zubeda is being treated at Nanjappa Hospital in Shivamogga and is said to be out of danger. Suraiya Banu is the current president of NR Pura town Panchayat. Her term as per a seat-sharing agreement ended recently and she was supposed to vacate the post for another member. Suraiya and Zubeda are the only two women elected from the Congress in the town panchayat and were asked to share power during the period. When Suraiya was reluctant to step down, Congress leaders intervened and tried to convince both of them but in vain. It irked Zubeda and later she alleged that Congress leaders took Suraiya’s side. Pained by the development she consumed some unspecified tablets in her house late on Friday. Her husband had no information as to what she uploaded as her WhatsApp status. Zubeda’s son-in-law Riyaz told reporters, “She put a status on WhatsApp and switched off her mobile. Soon after we noticed it, we rushed to her house only to see her unconscious. We shifted Zubeda to the taluk hospital and then to a private hospital in Shivamogga for better medical care. She is recovering.” “Zubeda had taken sleeping tablets and as she needed better treatment, she was referred to a hospital in Shivamogga,” Dr Veera Prasad told reporters.