DAVANAGERE/HAVERI: Former minister BC Patil's son-in-law Pratap Kumar KG, 41, allegedly died by
suicide by consuming poison on Monday. Pratap reportedly parked his car near Arakere in the Honnali forest area of Davanagere district at 2.30pm and consumed poison.
Pratap then called his family to inform them about his condition, sources confirmed. Immediately upon receiving information about the incident, police arrived at the spot and rushed Pratap to Honnalli Hospital.
The victim was later moved to McGANN Hospital in Shivamogga, where doctors declared him brought dead.
Police are yet to ascertain the reason behind the suicide. A case has been registered at Honnali police station.
"We recovered a bottle of poison from the car, though no
death note was found. Prima facie evidence suggests personal reasons behind the suicide," informed Uma Prashanth, SP, Davanagere.
Patil and his family members later visited McGANN hospital. After postmortem, the body was handed over to the family members.
Pratap's last rites will be performed in Kattalagere village on Tuesday. Commenting on Pratap's death, Patil said, "He had gone to his village. After his brother Prabhudev called and said Pratap had consumed poison, I immediately informed the Davanagere deputy SP and Honnalli CPI."
Patil further said: "After a while, once Pratap was available on the phone, I asked him about his location. He barely managed to say he was on the Honnalli-Malebennur Road. Immediately, I informed the Honnalli CPI, and police rushed to the spot and moved him to hospital, but he died on the way."
He added: "Pratap was my elder daughter's husband. Since the couple was childless, Pratap was depressed and had turned alcoholic." According to sources, Pratap and Soumya, Patil's elder daughter, were married in 2008.
Meanwhile, BJP state unit president BY Vijayendra said Pratap took care of the Patil family and was active in politics. "His death pains me a lot," he added. Commenting on the death, Shivamogga MP BY Raghavendra said: "Our families have an emotional bond." Many leaders, including former MLA Renukacharya, visited the mortuary.