K'taka Minister booked for ‘abetment of suicide', refuses to quit

CONTRACTOR’S DEATH

BENGALURU: Senior Karnataka Minister R Eshwarappa has been booked for abetment of suicide in connection with the alleged suicide of a 37-year-old civil contractor who had accused him of corruption, but remained defiant in the face of mounting pressure for his ouster from the state Cabinet, saying there was no need for his resignation.

Stepping up pressure, opposition Congress urged state Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot to dismiss Eshwarappa from the council of Ministers, even as the embattled BJP leader called for a probe into the ‘conspiracy’ behind the death of Santosh K Patil, who had levelled the bribery charges against him earlier.

While Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said he would speak to Eshwarappa on the issue to find out what actually happened, BJP general secretary and Karnataka in-charge Arun Singh maintained this was not a simple incident and that every aspect of it would be investigated.

The family members of Patil refused to accept his body until the accused in the case are not arrested.

Earlier, the Udupi police filed an FIR against Eshwarappa, the Karnataka Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RDPR) Minister for abetment of suicide over the contractor’s death, based on a complaint from his brother Prashanth Patil.