In a shocking turn of event, a contractor from Udupi Santosh Patil, who had accused senior BJP leader KS Eshwarappa of corruption and fraud, died by suicide on Tuesday. Patil, who was the national secretary of Hindu Yuva Vahini, was found dead in a lodge in Udupi. The contractor blamed the Karnataka BJP leader for his death and demanded that he be punished.
"I am going on a journey of no return. I have taken this decision after suppressing all my wants and desires. I have brought some friends with me, after lying to them that we are going on a picnic. But they are not responsible for my death. I thank all my friends I also thank the journalists for highlighting my problems," he said in the message sent to his friends a day prior to the suicide, according to the police.
In his final message, he even urged PM Modi and former CM BS Yediyurappa to protect his wife and child. The police visited Patil's home in Hindalaga village and spoke to his family. His wife said he left saying he was going for a picnic with friends, a norm with Patil so she didn't think anything out of it.
The corruption charges against Eshwarappa
Recently, Patil levelled serious allegations against Eshwarappa for demanding 40 percent bribe when he asked his bills to be settled. He claimed to have done a contract work of building roads worth Rs 4 crore in Hindalaga Gram Panchayat. Patil also claimed that he spent Rs 15 lakh in bribes to the Rural Development Department to get the payment for his bills.
In response to the allegations by Patil, Eshwarappa filed a defamation case and denied charges of corruption.
Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai has said that a preliminary probe is being conducted into the alleged suicide of Santosh Patil. He added that the government will not interfere in the investigation.
