Former Karnataka minister gets clean chit in abetment to suicide case

The Udupi district police on Wednesday gave a clean chit to former Karnataka minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, KS Eshwarappa, in the death of public works contractor, Santosh Patil

The Udupi district police on Wednesday gave a clean chit to former Karnataka minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, KS Eshwarappa, in the death of public works contractor, Santosh Patil.

Eshwarappa was forced to step down from the state cabinet two days after the incident, and he said at the time that he would be “cleared” of all charges. (File photo)

“We have submitted a B report citing a lack of evidence today,” a senior police officer, directly involved in investigation of the case, said.

The B report — a cancellation report filed when no evidence is found against the accused —was submitted in a special court in Bengaluru, and has raised a political storm with the opposition Congress and Patil’s family alleging irregularities in the process.

The clean chit comes three months after Patil was found dead in a hotel in Udupi district, about 400km from Bengaluru, on April 11. In his “death note” on WhatsApp, which Patil sent to his family, friends and a section of the media, he alleged that he was being harassed by then rural development and panchayat raj (RDPR) minister, Eshwarappa, for a bribe (“commission”) to release payments for works done in Belagavi last February.

The case added to growing allegations of graft against the Basavaraj Bommai-led BJP government and sparked backlash from contractors in the state that spoke of widespread corruption, particularly “commissions” as high as 40% to the award of public works and the release of payments.

“I am happy that the B report has come and I have come out clean from this. I knew that such a report will come out and had said it on the day the case was filed as I did not have any connection with the suicide. I had said this and also that I will come out clean from these allegations,” Eshwarappa told reporters at his home in Shivamogga on Wednesday.

Eshwarappa was forced to step down from the state cabinet two days after the incident, and he said at the time that he would be “cleared” of all charges.

“When I gave my resignation, many leaders from the state and nation had told me that I will come out clean. Many seers from across the state had also come home and told me that I will be proven innocent. I am happy today that due to this, our state and national leaders, government had faced some embarrassment today. they are all free from it,” he said on Wednesday.

Eshwarappa added that whether or not he will be re-inducted in the cabinet of Bommai is left to the senior leadership of the BJP in the state and Centre.

Eshwarappa is one of the senior most leaders in the BJP, from the influential Kuruba community and has transformed himself as a strong proponent of the Hindutva ideology with recent remarks on the saffron flag and sparing no opportunity to target Muslims, especially in the Harsha murder case. Eshwarappa had defied prohibitory orders by the Shivamogga district administration and led the funeral procession which led to communal riots in February.

Patil, who identified himself as the national secretary of the Hindu Vahini, wrote a letter to Giriraj Singh and other senior BJP leaders at the union on March 11, a month before his death, saying that he was yet to be paid for undertaking public work in Hidalgo village of Belagavi district.

“Minister associates also annoying me to provide them with a commission for the completed work. Hon’ble Sir, I am in great tension and have huge pressure from the creditors who have given me the finance on interest. If the payment and work orders are not given to me on an immediate basis then unwillingly, I do not have an option for myself except suicide,” Patil said in his letter.

He added in the letter that he completed public works to the tune of ₹4 crores in around 108 packages which involved the construction of roads in the village before the Maha Laxmi Jathre, or fair, which takes place every few years and attracts thousands of visitors from across Karnataka and other states.

Family alleges foul play

Patil’s family on Wednesday alleged foul play in the case, saying that they were not informed that such a report would be submitted even before the end of the final notice period for any objections.

“For two months, the police gave us no notice, and in the last 10 days, they have given us three notices seeking informationwith response time for two within five days, and the last one just two days. We asked the police to give us 15-20 days’ time since it was raining heavily and roads were blocked from Belagavi to Udupi. But though three days were left in our notice period, the police have already given a B report,” Prashant Patil, Santosh’s elder brother, told HT.

He added that the police and district administration officials also did not inform the family about the actual construction completed by the late contractor.

“Is a death note on WhatsApp not considered a death note and will only those which are handwritten be considered?” he asked, adding that the family will challenge the report legally.

UT Khader, the deputy leader of the opposition and Congress legislator, said that it was the government’s responsibility to understand the pain of the victims.

Patil’s wife wrote a letter to the Karnataka governor last week, alleging that the police were not conducting a fair probe in the case.

“Just last week, Santosh Patil’s wife had written to the Karnataka governor, stating that the police were not conducting a fair probe and that the family was not contacted nor taken into confidence. The government and Governor should understand the pain of the family and conduct a fair and comprehensive probe,” Khader said.