IAS officer DK Ravi's death: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announces CBI probe

New Delhi: Bowing to mounting public pressure, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday decided to hand over to CBI the probe into the mysterious death of an upright IAS officer that had led to national outrage and state-wide protests.

The Chief Minister made the announcement in the Assembly, saying he was referring the case to CBI honouring the feelings of parents of officer D K Ravi and public sentiments. "I understand the feelings of Ravi's parents.... We respect public sentiments..," Siddaramaiah said, adding, 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.

Read: IAS officer DK Ravi’s father-in-law threatens to join protests

The family of 35-year old Ravi, who had made a mark as a bold officer and taken on the sand and land mafia besides ordering crackdown on tax evaders, had suspected foul play and demanded an inquiry by the central agency.

Opposition BJP and JDS had also launched an offensive against the Siddaramaiah government with public protests also raging statewide ever since the death of Ravi on Monday last, when police had suspected it to be prima facie a case of suicide.

Read: IAS officer’s death: DK Ravi had booked two hotel rooms in Mysuru

As the Assembly met, BJP and JDS members were in the well of the House raising slogans against the government accusing it of trying to hush up the case and demanding a CBI probe. Both parties had stalled the proceedings since Tuesday last, insisting on a CBI probe and were holding protests, besides seeking Governor Vajubhai Vala's intervention to advise the Chief Minister to entrust the case to the central agency.

Before his statement in the Assembly, the Chief Minister held a Council of Ministers meeting on the issue. The Chief Minister's announcement was immediately welcomed by the family of Ravi.

"...truth has to come out... fair investigation has to happen. People of this state and this country should know the truth, this was our demand. Government has accepted our demand and handed over the investigation to CBI, I thank everyone for this," Ravi's father-in-law Hanumantharayappa said.

"...Ravi is not a person who will commit suicide. Talks about his suicide cannot be true. CBI has to investigate from all the angles to bring out the truth. Our family and Ravi's family will completely cooperate with CBI," he said.

Siddaramaiah had earlier lashed out at the Opposition parties, particularly JDS, accusing it of trying to derive political mileage out of the incident. He had also dismissed JDS leader H D Kumaraswamy's charge that a woman IAS officer, a batchmate of Ravi, was being harassed. "The question of harassing does not arise at all. The charge is concocted and fabricated," he had said.

Read: DK Ravi’s death: Online group holds protest march

The Opposition parties had accused the government of tarnishing the image of the officer by citing "personal reasons" for his death and selectively leaking out "stories" casting aspersions. The CM had also come under Opposition attack for his reported remark in an interview to a Kannada newspaper that Ravi had made 44 calls to his batchmate woman IAS officer on the day of his death.

With the issue snowballing, several IAS officers in Karnataka had come out openly and signed an online petition to Prime Minister Narendra Modi pressing for a CBI probe. 

Meanwhile, Congress President Soni Gandhi wrote to his wife, assuring her a fair investigation. The Congress president had asked Siddaramaiah to hand over the investigation into the death of the 36-year-old IAS officer to the CBI.