DK Ravi’s death: ‘Don’t trust politicians, want justice,’ says family

Doddakoppalu: A week after DK Ravi’s shocking death, his family grieves and the years that their son spent fighting the corrupt leaves them deeply suspicious of all politicians. At the IAS officer’s home in Doddakoppalu, the father, Kariyappa, sits in silence, while his mother is leading the fight for justice. Standing guard is a swarm of policemen, all gearing up for HD Kumaraswamy’s visit on Monday.

The mother, Gowramma, reflects the deep unease over how her son's reputation has been tarnished and over this unnecessary dramatisation of his death as politicians of every persuasion circle their home, waiting to make political capital from the loss of the shining success story - their son.

“The state government is spreading lies about my son and that IAS officer he was supposed to be having an affair with,” she wept. “I can’t stand it.”

The entire family shares this skepticism over the honeyed assurances of politicians. Is Kumaraswamy a friend of the family? “He is no friend of ours,” said Mansa, Ravi’s niece, who speaks with a quiet bitterness in her voice. “We don’t trust him or Siddaramiah. We don’t want to be roped into their political games, we just want justice.”

Did the idea to have the case transferred to the CBI come from a politician? “No. It’s what we wanted,” Mansa said. “It’s been a week and the post-mortem reports haven’t been completed. Why haven’t they checked the saree for fingerprints? For the first half hour after his death, we were told there was a suicide note, which also seems to have disappeared. We don’t care about what the politicians say to us, as long as the truth about Ravi’s death is brought to light.”