DK Ravi's death: Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah says yes to CBI probe into IAS officer's case

Its been a week since IAS officer DK Ravi was found dead in his Bengaluru apartment under mysterious conditions and on Monday the Congress government in Karnataka finally bent to pressure from various quarters and said he would recommend a CBI probe in the case.

Speaking at the Karnataka Assembly, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah gave into the demands of Opposition, activists and the family members of the dead IAS officer and decided to handover the ongoing investigation of the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

“I understand the feelings of Ravi’s parents…. We respect public sentiments..,” Siddaramaiah said, adding that the government was keen that the truth should be brought out and culprits punished.

He also asserted that the government never wanted to hush up the case nor did it intend to protect anyone.

“…We believe in people’s power. We believe in respecting public sentiments,” said the Chief Minister who was facing rising public anger and growing clamour for a CBI probe.

The death of DK Ravi, who took on land mafia and realtors, spiralled into a major controversy after Siddaramaiah refused to seek a CBI probe in the case. The case was being probed by Karnataka CID. Opposition parties and activists have maintained pressure on the state government and have been demanding that the investigation in the case should be carried out by the CBI.

Amid major uproar in the Karnataka Assembly on Monday, CM Siddaramaiah defended the Karnataka CID and said that he had nothing against the CBI.

He said in the Assembly that the government had faith in the police and they hadn’t criticised the CBI. Siddaramaiah also said that the CID had also been functioning independently, just like the CBI.

The decision to transfer the probe came after Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Monday wrote to Ravi’s wife promising a fair and transparent probe into the incident. This came after Ravi’s mother reportedly wrote an open letter to her seeking an impartial probe.

Siddaramaiah said he had planned to table the CID interim report but could not do so because of the High Court order.

Maintaining that his government never brought pressure on any officer and believed in providing a conducive working atmosphere for them, he said, “We believe in our system, judiciary and democracy… we will never show disrespect to judiciary….we believe in the rule of law..”

Siddaramaiah also said there had never been a case where an incident had straightaway been referred to CBI immediately after its occurrence. With the federal set-up in the country, the Centre could not refer a case suo motu to CBI and could do so based on a state’s request, he said.

He taunted the BJP, saying it had not referred even a single case to the central agency during its five year rule in the state.

The Chief Minister said the state CID was also efficient and handing over the probe to another agency would affect their morale, which was why he had been saying that they should be allowed to carry out their investigation first.

He had also assured the parents of Ravi that after receiving the report of CID and post mortem, he would take a decision on handing over the case to CBI.

The CM said Ravi was an honest and efficient officer and that was the reason why he transferred him from Kolar to Bengaluru as Additional Commissioner of Commercial Taxes (Enforcement)based on the request of his father-in-law.

The government has maintained so far that Ravi’s death prima facie seemed to be a case of suicide, but the opposition parties and the family of the IAS officer have refused to accept the theory.

Ravi’s family raised doubts over the police’s claim that he committed suicide, saying that he was under “political pressure”.

“My son wouldn’t have committed suicide. He is not like that. He was strong hearted. My son was not a coward. I had not given birth to a son who could commit suicide,” Gowramma, the mother of DK Ravi, had told PTI earlier.