Deceased contractor’s brother demands arrest of Karnataka Minister

The deceased had accused Rural Development & Panchayat Raj Minister K.S. Eshwarappa of corruption

Udupi Superintendent of Police N. Vishnuvardhan and other police officers visited the lodge in Udupi where the body of contractor Santosh Patil, who had levelled corruption charges against Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister K.S. Eshwarappa, was found on April 12, 2022.

The brother of the contractor who allegedly ended his life after accusing Rural Development & Panchayat Raj Minister K.S. Eshwarappa of corruption announced that the family will not carry out the last rites unless the Minister is arrested.

In Belagavi, Santosh Patil’s brother Prashant demanded the immediate arrest of Eshwarappa, saying the RDPR Minister’s corrupt ways had led to the death of his brother. “We will not carry out the last rites of my brother till Eshwarappa is arrested,” Prashant Patil told journalists in Belagavi on April 12.

Prashant Patil had gone to the police station at Belagavi Camp to lodge a missing complaint. He was shocked to learn that his brother’s body had been found in a lodge in Udupi.

“We are a middle class family. My brother took loans to take up civil contracts. He invested ₹4 crore in civil works in Hindalaga village. But the Minister refused to clear his bills. The Minister wanted bribes to settle the bills. But his bills were not cleared even after my brother paid some money to the Minister’s associates. Even an appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi was futile. It is very unfortunate,” he said.

Prashant Patil and some of his friends left for Udupi to bring Santosh Patil’s body to Belagavi.

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi took up the suicide of the contractor to slam the BJP. He tweeted: ‘BJP’s 40% Commission Govt in Karnataka has claimed the life of their own Karyakarta. The victim’s pleas to the PM went answered. PM & CM are complicit’.

Protests against Minister

In Shivamogga, workers of the Youth Congress staged a protest demanding the arrest of Eshwarappa in connection with the alleged suicide of contractor Santosh Patil.

The police took the protesters into custody as they headed to Eshwarappa’s residence. The workers, led by Youth Congress district president H.P. Girish, demanded the arrest of the Minister alleging that he was responsible for the suicide of Santosh Patil.

A similar protest was held in Chikkamagaluru by members of the Congress, JD(S), Communist Party of India and some progressive organisations.