Who is Santhosh Patil, and what has he alleged against Eshwarappa?
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 in a hotel in the state’s Udupi on Tuesday morning.
A senior police official identified the deceased as Santhosh Patil (40) and said he was found dead at Shambhavi Hotel in Udupi on Tuesday morning. He is suspected to have died by suicide, the police said.
Patil, in his letters to the central government, had stated that he and six other contractors had implemented road projects in Hindala gram panchayat in Belagavi district in May 2021, but were not paid for the same. He claimed that the contractors invested Rs 4 crore for the project, but had suffered losses due to government delay in payments.
Alleging that government officials were seeking a 40 per cent commission on the total bill, Patil claimed to have approached top BJP leaders with his grievances.
Patil had recently raised allegations against rural development minister K S Eshwarappa, saying that the BJP leader had been harassing him for commissions to clear the bills for contracts he had implemented for the government over a year ago. Patil had also said that Eshwarappa should be held responsible if something happened to him.
Karnataka Cheif Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Friday accepted state minister KS Eshwarappa's resignation. He said, "I have accepted Karnataka Minister KS Eshwarappa's resignation, will send it to the Governor."
Eshwarappa's resigned after been accused of in the alleged suicide case of contractor Santosh Patil. The victim had accused the minister of corruption. (ANI)
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Three days after he was named as an accused in a case registered over the “unnatural death” of a civil contractor, Karnataka minsiter KS Eshwarappa submitted his resignation to Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Friday evening. Eshwarappa who was Karnataka rural development and Panchayat Raj minister in the cabinet had said that he was quitting “to prevent embarrassment to the BJP."
The contractor, Santhosh Patil was found dead Tuesday in a lodge in Udupi region. He is suspected to have consumed poison, and the police are investigating it as a suspected case of suicide. Prior to his death, Patil had accused Eshwarappa and his associates of not releasing payments for road work worth Rs 4 crore, which he had carried out at Hindalga village in Belagavi, and “demanding a commission of 40 per cent”.
Eshwarappa along with his supporters on Friday morning travelled all the way from Shivamogga to Bengaluru to submit his resignation to the Chief Minister. Eshwarappa said that he believes that he will come out clean in the probe ordered by the CM into the suicide case which has now put him under the scanner after the opposition parties seeking his resignation and arrest. (ENS)
Karnataka Minister KS Eshwarappa on Friday evening arrived at Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai's residence to tender his resignation amid the row over the alleged suicide of contractor Santosh Patil, news agnecy ANI reported. Earlier in the day, the minister had visited Sree Siddaganga Mutt in Tumakuru.
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After completing her Bachelor in Electrical Engineering from Jain University in Bengaluru, Shetty started her career as a model and participated in the 2016 Miss Diva pageant, where she was crowned Miss Supranational India. Shetty also represented India at Miss Supranational 2016 and won the global beauty pageant.
Soon, the young star was flooded with acting offers and one of them was Yash-fronted Kannada action movie "KGF: Chapter 1". "Movies were always on the agenda but I didn't think it would happen this soon and with these films. I feel blessed and fortunate that I got the opportunity early in my career, it's all like a dream. "I thought that I would go and give auditions but things happened quickly. I try to work hard and I don't take all of this for granted," Shetty told PTI in an interview. (PTI)
Accusing the Karnataka government and Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai of trying to protect Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister K S Eshwarappa, the opposition Congress on Friday demanded his arrest and that he should be booked under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The opposition party also urged that an impartial investigation be conducted by the police under the supervision of a sitting judge of the Karnataka High Court. Eshwarappa, against whom police have booked a case for allegedly abetting the suicide of contractor Santosh K Patil, will be submitting his resignation to Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai later on Friday evening, as a political furore erupted over the issue.
The Congress that has found a fresh ammunition against the ruling party ahead of the assembly election next year, has formed nine teams, and each team will be travelling to at least two to three districts, to inform people regarding "40 per cent commission and rampant corruption" under the current BJP government. (PTI)
Karnataka Congress president DK Shivakumar asked Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Friday why he was accepting minister KS Eshwarappa’s resignation if he had not done anything wrong.
“The chief minister said that Eshwarappa has not done anything wrong. If he didn’t do anything then why are you accepting his resignation?” asked Shivakumar.
The Congress has demanded the BJP minister’s arrest in connection with the death of contractor Santosh Patil, who had alleged corruption by the rural development minister. (Read more)
As Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RDPR) Minister K S Eshwarappa is all set to resign, Karnataka BJP strongman B S Yediyurappa on Friday, standing by his old friend, expressed confidence that he will come out clear from all allegations and return as Minister soon.
Eshwarappa, against whom police have booked a case for allegedly abetting the suicide of contractor Santosh Patil, will be submitting his resignation to Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai today evening.
"As a situation has come for him (Eshwarappa) to resign, he is going to resign. If the investigation is completed in two to three months, it will be proved that he has no role (in the case) and that he is innocent, and there will no hurdles for him to be re-inducted into the cabinet," Yediyurappa said. Speaking to reporters here, the former Chief Minister said, due to certain unavoidable reasons, despite having committed no mistake, a situation has come for Eshwarappa to resign, under certain pressure. (PTI)
Congress leaders need not become the investigator, prosecutor and judge in the case pertaining to the death of civil contractor Santhosh Patil, but they should allow a free and thorough investigation in the matter, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said Friday.
Responding to increasing demands from Opposition leaders to arrest minister K S Eshwarappa, Bommai said, “The police should be allowed to do their job. Whether the police or the CBI, they did not arrest the then home minister K J George in the Ganapathy suicide case. The police will decide what to do and what not to do. Why are Congress leaders anxious? Let the truth come out from the investigation.” Read more.
The Opposition's protests in Karnataka are not for Karnataka Minister K S Eshwarappa's resignation, but rather against corruption, state Congress chief DK Shivakumar said. "CM said (Eshwarappa) has not done anything wrong. If he didn't do anything then why are you accepting his resignation?" he asked, according to ANI.
A festering political rivalry between the Congress’s Karnataka president, DK Shivakumar, and former BJP minister Ramesh Jarkiholi seems set to be rekindled in the wake of the mysterious death of a contractor in the Udupi region.
Santhosh Patil, 40, died by suicide on Tuesday, after accusing Rural Development Minister KS Eshwarappa of defaulting on payments for road work implemented in the Hindalga village of Belagavi. The Congress has demanded the BJP minister’s arrest. Read more.
There is no need for the Opposition to become an investigation or judge in Contractor Santosh Patil's death case, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said. " State Min KS Eshwarappa has decided to resign on his own and will tender his resignation today evening," he added.
"Was K J George (Minister during Congress rule who was blamed by a police officer before committing suicide) arrested by the Congress government? Neither the Karnataka police nor the CBI had arrested him, despite the NDA government at the Centre. Police will decide if they need to arrest or not," he asked. (with PTI, ANI inputs)
The family of contractor Santosh Patil, who allegedly died by suicide, said on Thursday that they are not bothered about the resignation of Karnataka Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RDPR) Minister K S Eshwarappa against whom police have booked a case for abetting the suicide and demanded his arrest.
This evening, Eshwarappa announced his resignation as Minister, as a political furore erupted. He would be submitting the resignation letter to Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Friday.
"...three names are mentioned in the FIR as A1, A2, A3- the police department is investigating and they will have to arrest the three...we want arrest, we have never asked for resignation. Resignation is left to the government and him (Eshwarappa). We want the arrest of the accused persons," Santosh Patil's brother Prashant Patil told reporters here. Reacting to Eshwarappa's resignation, he said the family is not bothered about it. (PTI)
The Congress on Thursday said it will continue with its protests till Karnataka minister K S Eshwarappa is arrested and booked for murder and corruption, describing his resignation as "too little, too late".
Eshwarappa, who is facing charges of abetment to suicide in connection with the death of a civil contractor in Udupi, announced stepping down from his position on Thursday. (PTI)
Karnataka Chief minister Basavaraj Bommai said Thursday the state government is awaiting the preliminary findings of a police investigation into the death of a contractor in Udupi to decide on a course of action against state rural development minister K S Eshwarappa even as the opposition Congress party stepped up protests calling for his resignation.
“The post mortem was completed only last evening. We are waiting for the preliminary findings of the investigation,” said Bommai, adding the BJP central leadership has not intervened in the controversy surrounding Eshwarappa and a demand for his resignation. Read more
The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) Wednesday arrested three persons, including two from the Yeshwantpur railway station, and seized 3.176 kg of hashish from their possession. The duo held from the station had come from Uttar Pradesh, said NCB officials.
The duo had procured the contraband from a Nepali supplier and officials said they have been supplying hashish for a long time now. Read more
Rain and thundershowers are very likely to occur at many places over South Interior Karnataka and Coastal Karnataka, and at isolated places over North Interior Karnataka in the next 48 hours, the weather department has predicted.
According to the Meteorological Centre, Bengaluru, several parts of South Interior Karnataka and Coastal Karnataka experienced rainfall, while dry weather continued over North Interior Karnataka.
Several areas in Hasan, Udupi, Tumakuru and Kodagu saw rainfall Thursday morning. Meanwhile, Bengaluru city, too, is expected to see thundershowers today.
Senior Karnataka Congress leaders D K Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah were stopped by the police from marching to Chief Minister Bommai's residence. The party has been demanding the arrest of Minister K S Eshwarappa who has been named in an FIR in connection with the death of contractor Santhosh Patil.
Express Photos
Senior Karnataka Congress leaders D K Shivakumar, Siddaramaiah and others were detained Thursday as police stopped them from marching towards Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai’s residence. The party has been demanding the arrest and resignation of Karnataka Minister KS Eshwarappa in connection with contractor Santosh Patil’s death.
A 37-year-old man, accused of killing his two minor children in 2020, died by suicide by jumping from the fifth floor of the City Civil Court complex near Mysore Bank Circle in Bengaluru Wednesday.
The deceased, identified as Jatin R Kumar, was arrested in March 2020 for allegedly killing his children — three-year-old Taushini and 18-month-old Shastha — by smothering their faces with a pillow. Read more
A 56-year-old ex-serviceman was found bludgeoned to death in his house in Bengaluru on Wednesday, said the police.
The deceased is identified as Jude Theddeus, a resident of Domlur Layout in Halasuru police station limits. A divorcee, he lived in this house alone for the past three years after retiring from the Indian Army, said the police. Read more
The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) began operating all its 800 premium buses from Bengaluru to different cities in neighbouring states Wednesday night after nearly three years due to the coronavirus pandemic, said officials.
The KSRTC decided to operate all premium buses after a dip in cases of Covid-19 and also because of the extended holidays along with summer holidays in schools in the state. KSRTC will operate more than 200 additional buses between April 14 and 17 from Bengaluru to other cities. Read more
Petrol price: Rs 111.09
Diesel price: Rs 94.79
The historic Chennakeshava temple in Belur continued with its age-told tradition of kicking off the rathotsava (car festival) after reciting passages from the Quran, despite opposition from right-wing activists.
The state’s endowment department allowed the temple authorities to go ahead with the practice on Wednesday. The annual celebration started on Wednesday under strict vigil of the district police. Hundreds of people from across the state thronged the Chennakeshava temple to witness the two-day car festival.
“Since a long time, reading excerpts from the Quran has been the tradition that is followed. However, this year, there was confusion as the temple authorities had initially issued a notice barring Muslim traders from setting up stalls. However, the endowment department took the suggestion from various priests and decided to go ahead with the tradition,” an official said. Read more
Bengaluru will see partly cloudy skies on Thursday. Light rainfall is also likely, a forecast by the Meteorological Centre said.
Maximum and Minimum temperatures are very likely to be around 34 and 21 degrees Celsius, respectively.
The Karnataka revenue department has recovered 2,68,373 acres of government land from encroachers across the state till December 2021, a report said.
The revenue department report accessed by The Indian Express stated that of the total extent of 62,72,812 acres of government land in Karnataka, 14,25,464 acres have been encroached. Of the total encroached land, 10,20,982 acres also involve cases of encroachment which are under litigation and lands encroached for public uses like construction of flyovers, roads and schools etc. Read more
Karnataka on Wednesday recorded 55 fresh Covid-19 cases and zero fatality.
Of the total infections, Bengaluru urban district saw 46 while Dharwad reported four infections, two in Mysuru and one each in Chitradurga, Bengaluru Rural and Dakshina Kannada.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday sought a response from the Tamil Nadu government and others on a plea filed by a man, who allegedly issued death threats to the three Karnataka High Court judges, following their verdict on the hijab issue, seeking to quash or transfer the second FIR filed against him in Karnataka.
A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Bela M Trivedi issued notices to Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and others while seeking their responses before May 18.
The top court was hearing a plea filed by Rahamathulla who stated that he would be put under tremendous hardship and it would be impossible for him to approach various courts/police stations in two different states in respect of such FIRs. The plea said that the continuation of the probe in both the FIRs parallel by two different investigating agencies would be an abuse of due process of law. (PTI)
Karnataka Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar on Wednesday announced that the state government was eyeing a tie-up between the Bengaluru-based Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS) and medical universities in Estonia. Briefing media persons after a meeting with Estonian Ambassador Katrin Kivi at the Vidhana Soudha, Sudhakar said, “I have discussed the possibility of a tie-up for an exchange programme between the RGUHS and their institutes.”
He further said that though Estonia is a small country, it has a sizable number of start-ups and good technology. “They are in the process of initiating reforms in medical education and the health sector through technology,” Sudhakar added. Read more
Ahead of the Assembly elections in Karnataka in 2023, the state BJP unit has started its preparation starting Tuesday with top party leaders forming three teams that will hold conventions of the district- and booth-level workers across the state till April 24.
One of the teams is headed by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, state BJP chief Nalin Kumar Kateel and national general secretary in charge of the state, Arun Singh, who will lead the other two teams. Each team, comprising MLAs, ministers and senior leaders, will go across the state and review organisational activities by the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Bommai told reporters on Tuesday that ahead of the BJP State Executive Committee meet to be held on April 16 and 17, organisational targets have been set for party leaders from the booth level to those heading various morchas in each district. “The party is gaining in strength through the disciplined and dedicated work of party workers in the Coastal region. BJP will win maximum seats in the Coastal region in the coming days,” said Bommai in Mangaluru. Read more
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While Congress members protested against Minister K S Eshwarappa, demanding his arrest and resignation over Santhosh Patil's death, CM Basavaraj Bommai Wednesday assured of an investigation into the matter in accordance with law.
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