Congress leaders have demanded that RDPR Minister K.S. Eshwarappa be arrested under two charges – abetting the suicide of contractor and BJP worker Santosh K. Patil, and corruption.
Some Congress leaders who visited the house of Patil in Belagavi on April 13 and met his wife, mother, and other relatives, alleged that Mr. Eshwarappa was directly responsible for the death of Patil, that amounted to abetment and that the Minister was involved in unprecedented levels of corruption in the department. Patil, a city-based contractor and Hindu Yuva Vahini leader was found dead in Udupi, a few months after accusing Mr. Eshwarappa of corruption.
This is not suicide, but murder, as the victim has been endlessly harassed by the Minister. It is an open and shut case of murder. Mr. Eshwarappa should be arrested immediately, Randeep Singh Surjewala, AICC general secretary in charge of Karnataka, said.
