Contractor Santosh Patil, Who Accused Karnataka Minister Of Corruption, Dies By Suicide

Patil had sent a message to his friends saying that Eshwarappa was ‘directly responsible’ for his death and that the Minister should be punished.

Representative Photo | Getty Images

New Delhi: Santosh Patil, the contractor who accused Karnataka Rural Development & Panchayat Raj minister and senior BJP leader KS Eshwarappa of corruption and fraud died by suicide on Tuesday in Udupi.

Patil who was the national secretary of the Hindu Yuva Vahini has blamed the minister as the sole reason for him taking this extreme step, as confirmed by ABP News sources.

According to a report by The Hindu, Patil went missing a few days back and Belagavi police had launched a search operation to trace him. 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 demands judicial inquiry and resignation of BJP Leader and Karnataka Minister Eshwarappa

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.."

He further said, "The unease of doing business in Karnataka is such that private companies don’t want to invest in the state. This is one of the reasons why we have high unemployment. Job creators are harassed by BJP’s corruption demands.."

Former CM Siddaramaiah reacted to Patil's death and said, "Bommai as a CM has failed to take any action against his minister KS Eshwarappa who should be dismissed from the cabinet...Eshwarappa responsible for Patil's death (alleged suicide)..he must be arrested..Entire state knows Eshwarappa is a corrupt man".

Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala also demanded the resignation of Eshwarappa and said, "BJP worker Santosh Patil wasn't spared after he levelled corruption charges against KS Eshwarappa...I'm told he named the minister in suicide note.Eshwarappa must be arrested without delay,or else, we'll have to gherao CM house & demand his resignation too."