A contractor involved in government projects, who recently accused a minister in the BJP government in Karnataka of harassing him for “commissions”, was found dead at a hotel in the state’s Udupi on Tuesday morning. A senior police officer identified the deceased as Santosh Patil (40) and said he was found dead on Tuesday morning at Shambhavi Hotel in Udupi. Police said he was suspected of dying by suicide.
The issue was raised by the opposition Congress after the allegations were made. Karnataka Congress in-charge Randeep Surjewala posted on social media on March 28, “Clear corruption allegations against Bommai government and its ministers, yet PM-CM-ED-CBI-ACB on ‘mute mode’.” Surjewala had said, “The complainant is a BJP leader. Has the BJP in Karnataka now adopted ‘Eat and Feed’ instead of ‘Na Khaunga Na Khane Dunga’? He said that there is a foul smell in the hair of the Bommai government.
In his response, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said, “Action will be taken based on the preliminary report of the incident. The truth will surely come out. The police will investigate the matter independently without any interference.”
Karnataka minister CN Ashwathnarayan on alleged suicide of contractor Santosh Patil said, “I don’t know much about the incident. CM has already reacted on this. The government has acted and the law will prevail. The government will not be biased and we are looking into the matter.”
Patil had recently leveled the allegation against Rural Development Minister KS Eshwarappa that BJP leaders were harassing him for giving him commission in lieu of clearing the bills for the contracts completed by the government a year ago. Patil had also said that Eshwarappa should be held responsible if anything happened to him.
On Tuesday morning, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai was informed in Mangaluru that the contractor had gone missing leaving a note. The Chief Minister said that he had no knowledge of the matter.
Patil, who describes himself as the national secretary of a right-wing group called Hindu Vahini, recently wrote to Prime Minister pic.twitter.com/MTUrPcR1VY
— ANI (@ANI) August 22, 2021
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Rural Development Minister Giriraj Singh, alleging that Eshwarappa and his associates were harassing him for commissions. Were were Eshwarappa claimed that he did not know Patil.
Patil, in his letters to the central government, had said that he and six other contractors had completed road projects in Hindala gram panchayat in Belagavi district in May 2021, but were not paid for it. He claimed that the contractors had invested Rs 4 crore for the project, but they had suffered losses due to government delay in payment.
Alleging that government officials were demanding 40 per cent commission on the total bill, Patil claimed that he had approached top BJP leaders with their grievances. In his March 11 letter to the Union Minister, he had said, “I am under great stress and I am under tremendous pressure from the creditors who have given me money on interest. If the payment and work order is not delivered immediately, then I have no option for myself.”
Patil said in the letter, “Our Minister of State RDPR Department S Eshwarappa asked me to complete the road work on 12-02-2021…we completed more than 108 works with a cost of Rs 4 crore. More than a year has passed, but till date we have neither received any work order nor a single rupee from them or the officials concerned.”