Contractor’s death: FIR filed against Minister Eshwarappa

Udupi: An FIR has been filed in the death of contractor Santhosh Patil naming Minister of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj K S Eshwarappa as one of the accused.

A complaint was lodged by the brother of the deceased, Prashanth Gowdappa Patil, at the Udupi City police station on Wednesday.

Santhosh Patil, a Belgaum-based contractor and BJP activist, had died mysteriously on Tuesday at a hotel in the city. He had reportedly left behind a suicide note accusing Eshwarappa for his death.

Recently, Santhosh had alleged that minister Eshwarappa had demanded a 40 percent commission for his work through his aide. He had reportedly even written letters to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Union home minister Amit Shah about the incident.

Meanwhile, police have begun an investigation into Santhosh’s death. An FSL team entered the hotel room in the presence of the family members, who arrived in the city late last night. The forensic examination of the crime scene is ongoing at the time of the publication of this news.

It is gathered that the mortal remains will be shifted to KMC hospital in Manipal for an autopsy once the collection of forensic evidence completes.