In contractor Santosh Patil death case, an FIR has been registered against Karnataka minister KS Eshwarappa. This follows the corruption allegations levelled against him by a government contractor who was found dead in a hotel room in Udupi on Tuesday morning.
Udupi Police registered the FIR and booked the minister under section 306 of the Indian Penal Code for abetment to suicide. Two of his aides, Basavaraj and Ramesh, have also been named in the FIR, Karnataka Police said. Santosh Patil, 40, was also a BJP member.
The contractor had alleged that Karnataka Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Eshwarappa was demanding 40% commission in a public work executed by him. He had accused the minister of demanding commission to the tune of Rs 4 crore for construction of a road in Belagavi's Higaldo village.
Read | Contractor ends life, blames Karnataka Minister K Eshwarappa in suicide note
The minister not only dismissed Santosh Patil's allegations but also filed a defamation suit against him. Eshwarappa has been hitting headlines for all the wrong reasons. Besides making several controversial religious remarks, he is also facing a court-ordered probe for alleged provocative comment on the murder of a Bajrang Dal worker.
The Opposition party Congress is demanding that the ruling BJP government lodge an FIR related to murder and corruption against the minister and dismiss him. Eshwarappa had earlier turned down the demand of the Opposition seeking his resignation.
Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said the police will conduct a thorough and transparent investigation into the contractor's death. He also ruled out any resignations in this regard. Karnataka Congress president DK Shivakumar also alleged that 'it is a murder, not suicide'. "I demand an immediate time-bound judicial inquiry into the alleged suicide' of Santosh Patil," Shivakumar said in a tweet.
(With PTI Inputs)
