Health problems drive Karwar ZP member to commit suicide

KARWAR: Vilas Chandru Naik (in pic), 62, a member of Uttara Kannada zilla panchayat, committed suicide at his house in Ramanagar village of Joida taluk on Sunday night.
He hanged himself from a ceiling fan in the midnight and family members found him dead on Sunday morning.
It is suspected that health-related problems might have led Naik to take the extreme step.
Family members said that he was facing health problems for the past few months and of late, he was suffering from severe stomach pain. Despite undergoing treatment, there was no respite from the pain. On Saturday night too, he suffered pain and called his doctor.
Naik was a popular politician in the district who began his political career as a follower of Vasant Asnotikar, former Karwar MLA. He won the Ramanagar ZP seat on a Janata Dal ticket and became the ZP vice-president. When Vasant joined the Congress, he also followed suit. He represented Ramanagar ZP seat thrice.
During the previous ZP elections, he contested as an independent as the party denied ticket to him. He defeated the Congress' official candidate. However, he rejoined the Congress after the elections on the advise of industries minister R V Deshpande.