An FIR was registered against BJP leader and Karnataka minister K.S. Eshwarappa, in the aftermath of corruption allegations levelled against him by a government contractor who was found dead Tuesday. Hindustan Times reported the Karnataka Police as saying: “Udupi Police registered the FIR, and the minister has been booked 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."
Santosh Patil, a leader of the Hindutva outfit Hindu Vahini, 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.
Congress general secretary and chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai should lodge an FIR of murder and corruption against the minister and dismiss him, otherwise Bommai's complicity is clear. "The CM and PM should lodge an FIR of murder and corruption against the BJP minister. Arrest the minister. Dismiss him as a minister. Conduct an independent probe. Otherwise, it will be clear that CM Bommai is complicit in the alleged corruption (sic)," Surjewala said on Twitter. "Dear friends of the BJP, At least show guts to speak for a fellow BJP worker! The wife of BJP worker, late Santosh Patil, is crying and telling how she had to sell her jewellery to fulfil the insatiable lust of corruption. Will Sh. J.P. Nadda speak up (sic)?" he asked.
Eshwarappa has turned down the demand of the opposition Congress seeking his resignation. Chief Minister 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 D.K. Shivakumar also alleged that "it is a murder, not suicide. If the BJP has any shame they will immediately arrest the minister". "I demand an immediate time-bound judicial inquiry into the alleged suicide' of Santosh Patil," Shivakumar said in a tweet. He said a businessman who had publicly alleged that BJP leaders and ministers were asking for bribes has been suspiciously found dead. "Corruption is at an all time high under the BJP rule," he alleged.
-Inputs from PTI
