Eshwarappa quashes allegations of demanding commission from Hindu Yuva Vahini National Secretary
Says, my department never approved work he claims to have completed
Bengaluru: Karnataka RDPR Minister K. Eshwarappa has said that he has filed a defamation case against the civil contractor and Hindu Yuva Vahini National Secretary Santhosh Patil who alleged that the minister was demanding commission for the payment of completed road works.
Reacting to the allegation labeled against him by Patil, the Minister said he did not demand a commission for releasing the payment of completed work and that the allegations made against him are fabricated.
“The allegation against me about having asked the commission to release the payment for the remainder of the completed work is fabricated. I have filed a defamation case against the Belagavi-based contractor and ‘Hindu Vahini’ National Secretary Santhosh. K. Patil who has made this accusation against me”, he informed.
Earlier on Monday, Patil wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking his intervention in the matter adding that he was under pressure from his creditors and if the issue is not resolved soon, he will have no options left but to commit suicide.
In his letter, Patil had alleged that Eshwarappa and his associates were demanding commission for releasing his payment of Rs. 4 crores for completed road work even after a year of completion of the work. He also alleged that the Minister was not releasing the work order for the same.
Eshwarappa however, has claimed that Patil had not sought any grant from his department and that the government had not approved any work that Patil claims to have completed.
“Santhosh K. Patil did not seek any grant from the Department of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj and the government did not provide approval to undertake the said work. The department had not issued any direction regarding this construction work and neither were the administrative grants given. Construction work as said by Santhosh K. Patil has not been implemented at the Hindalaga village. No government agency has provided technical grants or taken charge of this construction work. The department head has provided clarification that therefore, the matter of releasing funds does not arise”, Eeshwarappa said.
“It has come to my attention that on March 9, Santhosh K. Patil had fabricated allegations against me on TV. In the background of this, on March 10, I have registered a defamation lawsuit against Santhosh K. Patil at the 6th Main Metropolitan Court. He will be issued a notice tomorrow”, Eeshwarappa said.
He further added that Patil is not a BJP activist and that there is no connection between him and the party.
Responding to the question of the media, the Minister said, “I don’t know who is behind the conspiracy of accusing me of demanding commission. After contacting the party’s Belagavi District President today morning and inquiring, I learned that Santhosh K. Patil and BJP have no connection. He is not our activist or worker”, he said.
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Odisha: Normalcy returns to violence-hit Malkangiri; internet services fully restored
Malkangiri (PTI): Normalcy returned to Odisha’s Malkangiri district on Monday, nearly a week after around 200 villages were damaged in violent clashes in a village, with the district administration fully restoring internet services, a senior official said.
Additional District Magistrate Bedabar Pradhan said internet services, suspended across the district on December 8 to curb the spread of rumours and misinformation following the clashes, were restored after the situation improved.
The suspension had been extended in phases till 12 noon on Monday.
The administration also withdrew prohibitory orders imposed under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita within a 10-km radius of MV-26 village, where arson incidents were reported on December 7 and December 8.
Though the violence was confined to two villages, tension had gripped the entire district, as the incident took the form of a clash between local tribals and Bengali settlers following the recovery of a headless body of a woman on December 4, officials said.
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The violence broke out after residents of Rakhelguda village allegedly set ablaze several houses belonging to Bengali residents, forcing hundreds to flee. The headless body of Lake Podiami (51), a woman from the Koya tribe, was recovered from the banks of the Poteru river on December 4, while her head was found six days later at a location about 15 km away.
Officials said the district administration held several rounds of discussions with representatives of the tribal and Bengali communities, following which both sides agreed to maintain peace.
Relief and rehabilitation work has since been launched at MV-26 village, with preliminary assessment pegging property damage at around Rs 3.8 crore.
A two-member ministerial team headed by Deputy Chief Minister K V Singh Deo visited the affected village, interacted with officials and locals, and submitted a report to the chief minister.
So far, 18 people have been arrested in connection with the violence, the officials said, adding that despite the withdrawal of prohibitory orders and restoration of internet services, security forces, including BSF and CRPF personnel, continue to be deployed to prevent any untoward incident.
On Sunday, Nabarangpur MP Balabhadra Majhi visited MV-26 and neighbouring Rakhelguda villages, and held discussions with members of both communities as part of efforts to rebuild confidence and restore peace.
More than two lakh Bengali-speaking Bangladeshis were rehabilitated by the Centre in Malkangiri and Nabarangpur districts in 1968, and they currently reside in 124 villages of Malkangiri.
