Karnataka's Corrupt Buddies - One Death, Many Skeletons

The Santosh K. Patil case has exposed the ugly politician-contractor-bureaucrat nexus, where every rule in awarding government contracts is tweaked to facilitate nepotism and corruption

- Prathima Nandakumar

ON APRIL 12, Santosh K. Patil, a civil contractor from Belagavi, was found dead in a hotel room in Udupi. Two weeks before his death, the 37-year-old Patil, who was also a BJP worker, had accused rural development and panchayat raj (RDPR) minister K.S. Eshwarappa of harassing him for a “40 per cent commission” to clear pending bills worth ₹4 crore for civil work done in Hindalga village in Belagavi. A WhatsApp message from his phone to his friends and a section of the media said he was ending his life, and held Eshwarappa responsible. While corruption charges against politicians and bureaucrats are not new, the death of a party worker has been unsettling for the ruling BJP.

Last November, the Karnataka State Contractors’ Association (KSCA) alleged that its members were forced to pay “40 per cent commission” in government contracts. It expressed disappointment that despite writing to Prime Minister Narendra Modi about “rampant corruption”, especially in the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike and departments like PWD, irrigation, RDPR and health, the PMO remained silent. The association said bills worth ₹22,000 crore were pending before the government for the past 30 months.

KSCA president D. Kempanna threatened massive agitation if the Karnataka government failed to put an end to corruption. “The contractors always take the blame for substandard work. But corruption has been part of every regime and now it stands at 40 per cent. Often we cannot prove corruption charges for want of evidence,” he said.