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Rajdatta Patkar, the Indian software professional facing charges of attempting to blackmail Bob Awana, will withdraw his “not guilty” plea and enter a new plea in response to the charges next week.

A hearing on the motion to enter a new plea will be held before Judge Michael Seabright on Thursday, July 5.

The move came on the same day Governor Linda Lingle announced Awana’s resignation. Awana has been the state’s administrative director and Lingle’s chief of staff since her election in 2002, and is reported to be among her closest advisors.

It would appear that Patkar is prepared to plead guilty or no contest as part of a deal with prosecutors, but whether that deal has any direct relationship to Awana’s resignation is unknown. It could be as simple as accepting guilt, being sentenced to time served or some longer term, and being deported.

However, Hawaii Reporter’s Malia Zimmerman suggested this week that there could be a separate investigation of the underlying allegations raised in this case by the defendant’s family. According to published accounts, Patkar learned of a e-mails between Awana and a woman in the Philippines, and has claimed that the relationship amounted to “sexual exploitation”. The Maui Times Weekly reported Awana allegedly attempted to arrange sexual entertainment for one or more members of a state delegation to the Philippines.

If these reports have a grain of truth, a matter which is as yet untested, then it will be interesting to see if Patkar’s change of plea involves cooperation in another investigation.