Contractor death row: Karnataka minister booked for 'abetment of suicide'
Mangaluru, April 13: A case has been lodged against Karnataka Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RDPR) Minister K S Eshwarappa for abetment of suicide in connection with the death of a civil contractor, police informed on Wednesday.
According to sources, Eshwarappa has been named as the first accused in the case.
The FIR was reportedly registered following a complaint from Prashanth Patil, brother of Santhosh Patil - who had levelled bribery charges against the senior minister earlier. Patil was found dead at a Udupi lodge in a suspected suicide case.
Minister Eshwarappa and his staff members Ramesh and Basavaraj were mentioned as accused in Prashanth's complaint. Prashanth Patil said in the complaint that his brother had finished work in Hindalaga village worth Rs 4 crores. Santhosh had put his money into the project, and the bill was still pending. Santhosh had pleaded with minister Eshwarappa to release the funds on several occasions.
According to the complaint, the minister's close aides Basavaraj and Ramesh demanded a 40% commission.
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Patil's death sparked a huge political controversy on Tuesday, with the Congress demanding Eshwarappa's resignation and senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi and state Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai over the issue.
Meanwhile, Bommai on Wednesday said that he will speak to Minister Eswarappa in connection with contractor Santosh Patil's death and to know about the latter's stand on his resignation over the matter.
"Yes, FIR registered. Collected all information. I will speak with Eshwarappa... I will speak with him over the phone call and directly... I don't know what he (Eshwarappa) said (about resignation). It will be cleared when we speak directly," he said.
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-PTC News
