UDUPI: With police tight-lipped about progress into the investigation of the alleged suicide of contractor Santosh Patil at a lodge in Udupi, two police inspectors, Ananthapadmanabha of Brahmavar Circle and Sharanagowda of Malpe Circle, have been deputed to assist investigating officer Pramod Kumar, the inspector at Udupi Town police station.
Pramod Kumar has been taking inputs from various sources. Sources said that Patil’s friends, Prashanth Shetty of Byndoor and Santhosh Medappa of Kodagu, who had accompanied him on a tour of Chikkamagaluru before arriving in Udupi on April 11, were also questioned by police.
‘‘Though they were not detained, they were summoned to the police station for questioning,’’ police sources said. Police have also seized CCTV recordings from the hotel where Santosh was found dead, allegedly after consuming juice mixed with poison.
Meanwhile, Dinesh, manager of Shambhavi Lodge where Santosh committed suicide, told reporters on Friday that he had booked two rooms in his own name, at 5pm on April 11. He had provided his Hindalga address. Medappa and Shetty were staying in one room, while Santosh Patil took the other room. They went for dinner after checking in, and returned at 8.59pm. Santosh Patil was carrying juice in a cover, Dinesh said.
At 10.50am the next day, his friends arrived at the lodge reception and enquired about Santosh, saying that his room, No. 207, was locked, and he was not answering their phone calls. Following this, a room boy opened the door with a spare key, and they found Santosh lying dead in a sleeping position. “We immediately informed police,” Dinesh said.
Meanwhile, police had arrived at the lodge that morning, looking for Santosh Patil. They had shown his photograph but Dinesh was unable to identify him, as the address given to him by police was of Belagavi.
Police have taken away CCTV cameras and ordered that both rooms not be rented for a week, he said.