Trouble brews for KS Eshwarappa as contractor, who accused him of corruption, found dead in Udupi hotel

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

New Delhi, Apr 12: A contractor who accused Karnataka Rural Development & Panchayat Raj minister and senior BJP leader KS Eshwarappa of demanding 40 per cent commission for a contract, was found dead in a lodge in the coastal town of Udupi on Tuesday morning.

The deceased has been identified as Santhosh K Patil, who was a building contractor by profession, was also the national secretary of the Hindu Yuva Vahini killed himself in room no 207 of Shambhavi Lodge near KSRTC bus stand.

Before taking this extreme step, Patil wrote a death note and it was shared to media people. In the death note he has blamed the minister as the sole reason for him taking this extreme step.

Patil went missing a few days back from his house in Belgaum. The police then launched a search operation to trace him and was traced back to Udupi district. He had sent a message to his friends saying Eshwarappa was ‘directly responsible’ for his death, and that the Minister should be punished.

A few weeks ago, Patil had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi that he had invested Rs 4 crore in building roads in his village based on oral instructions of Eshwarappa. He accused the Minister of lies, corruption, and irregularities, and urged PM Modi to direct Eshwarappa to settle his bills.

Congress reacted to the news of Patil’s death and demanded an arrest of Eshwarappa. Karnataka Congress leader DK Shivakumar said, ” We heard about the death of Santosh Patil, a contractor from Udupi. Everyone knows it’s a murder. He died over corruption allegations (he levelled against KS Eshwarappa)… FIR must be filed against Eshwarappa; must be arrested under IPC 302 Sec.”

Shivakumar further demanded a time-bound judicial inquiry of Patil’s death and said, “Corruption is at an all time high under BJP rule..”