FIR against Eshwarappa over Karnataka contractor’s death; defiant minister says ‘won’t resign’

Karnataka minister K S Eshwarappa has been named in a police case in connection with the alleged suicide of Santosh Patil, a contractor who levelled corruption charges against the former. Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai is likely to seek his resignation over the issue, The Indian Express reported today.

However, a defiant Eshwarappa refused to step down. “The death note is false propaganda (on contractor Santosh Patil who accused Eshwarappa of corruption found dead in a lodge in Udupi). I have informed CM Bommai and the party president that there is no question of me resigning as a minister,” he said.

Patil was found dead in a hotel room in Udupi on Tuesday morning. He had earlier accused Karnataka Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Eshwarappa of demanding 40 per cent commission in a public work executed by him. The minister not only dismissed his allegations but also filed a defamation suit against him.

The FIR has been registered by the Udupi police for abetment of suicide under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code. Two associates of Eshwarappa — Basavaraj and Ramesh — have also been named in the FIR, which was filed based on a complaint by Patil’s brother Prashant. 

On Tuesday, the opposition Congress launched a scathing attack on the BJP over Patil’s death and demanded an FIR against the Karnataka minister and an independent probe into the incident. Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi accused the prime minister and the Karnataka chief minister of being complicit in the contractor’s death, saying that the victim’s pleas to them went unanswered.

While Bommai said the police will conduct a thorough and transparent investigation, a defiant K S Eshwarappa, who is facing the heat over the death of Santosh Patil, refused to resign from the cabinet, insisting he was not at fault and that he had even filed a defamation suit against the deceased.

Patil’s wife Jayashri told reporters in Belagavi: “My husband is not the one who can commit suicide. It is a murder. A man who always advised people not to commit suicide cannot take such a drastic step. What does it mean that a man who happily spoke to me last evening is no more,” she asked.

On March 30, Patil, who had claimed himself to be a BJP worker, alleged he had executed a work in the RDPR department and wanted the payment but that Eshwarappa demanded 40 per cent commission in the Rs four crore work, prompting a the rival Congress to dub the ruling BJP as “40 per cent sarkar.” The Minister had not only rubbished his charge then, but also filed a defamation suit against him.