Probe into Karnataka IAS officer’s death

Karnataka govt orders CID probe

Bengaluru: Refusing to yield to mounting pressure for a CBI probe into the mysterious death of an upright IAS officer, Karnataka Government on Tuesday announced a CID probe into his death that has evoked statewide outrage and protests.As the 35-year-old IAS officer D K Ravi's death rocked the Assembly with public pressure also building up for a CBI probe, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said the Crime Investigation Department would probe the case to unravel the "truth"--whether it was a suicide or murder or due to "some other" reasons.

"Is it a suicide or a murder or has he died of some other reasons, we also want to know the truth. People should also know it," Siddaramaiah told the Assembly, asserting that the city police were also efficient, as the Opposition insisted on a CBI probe and stormed into the well of the House.

The opposition protest led to adjournment in the pre-lunch session and after the House reassembled, BJP and JDS MLAs continued their dharna. Speaker Kagodu Thimappa then adjourned the House for the day, but BJP said its members would sit through the night till the demand for CBI probe was met. Protests marked by sporadic incidents of stone pelting erupted in Kolar district, where Ravi, before being moved to Bengaluru, had served as Deputy Commissioner, taking on sand mafia and striking a chord with people with a pro-poor image.

Angry protesters in Kolar stoned the house of local MLA Varthur Prakash and blocked a National Highway placing burning tyres before being chased away by police. Bengaluru Police Commissioner M N Reddi said that forensically, medically and examination of the situation all point to "prima facie understanding of a suicide." He said Ravi, found hanging from a ceiling fan in his room at his official flat here on Monday, was a "bold officer" and it was natural for people to think he was not a person to have committed suicide.

But, he added, "let us wait for the medical report...No single angle will be untouched.... Every angle will be covered. "We have not found any suicide note as of now and prima facie, we don't see any room for foul play," he said. Reddi said police would examine the CCTV footage from the apartment complex and analyse Ravi's mobile records.

Thousands of people turned up on the road leading to Ravi's native village Doddekopalu in Tumakuru district, as they bade an emotional farewell when his body was taken for last rites. Ravi hailed from an agriculturist's family. "Definitely Ravi is not a person who will commit suicide; if at all he has committed a suicide then there should be a strong reason behind it. Let's see what comes out of investigations," an emotional Hanumantharayappa, father-in-law of Ravi, told a T V channel.