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Contractor's death: Karnataka minister Eshwarappa resigns

April 15, 2022 22:16 IST

Karnataka Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RDPR) Minister K S Eshwarappa, against whom police have booked a case for allegedly abetting the suicide of contractor Santosh Patil, on Friday submitted his resignation to Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai.

IMAGE: Supporters shout slogans as Karnataka Rural Development and Panchayat Raj minister K S Eshwarappa arrives to submit his resignation to the chief minister, in Bengaluru, on Friday, April 15, 2022. Photograph: Shailendra Bhojak/PTI Photo

As a political furore erupted, Eshwarappa had on Thursday evening announced his resignation as minister.

 

Eshwarappa's supporters, who had gathered near the chief minister's official residence, shouted slogans asking him not to resign, and against Congress leaders.

Santosh Patil, a Belagavi-based contractor, was found dead at a hotel in Udupi on Tuesday, weeks after accusing Eshwarappa, who is also a senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader, of corruption.

In a purported suicide note in the form of a WhatsApp message, Patil had blamed Eshwarappa for his death.

Patil last month had complained to Union Rural Development Minister Giriraj Singh and also BJP central leaders stating that he was yet to be paid Rs 4 crore for road works undertaken in Hindalga village and had accused Eshwarappa's aides of demanding 40 percent commission for the release of the payment.

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