Bengaluru, Mar 20 (DHNS): The BJP and the JD(S) on Thursday accused Chief Minister Siddaramaiah of systematically trying to tarnish the reputation of the deceased IAS officer D K Ravi.
The BJP and the JD(S) on Thursday accused Chief Minister Siddaramaiah of systematically trying to tarnish the reputation of the deceased IAS officer D K Ravi.
Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy referred to a statement made by Siddaramaiah in an interview published in a section of Kannada media. In the interview, Siddaramaiah sought to know why Ravi had returned home on Monday (the day he died) within an hour of reaching office. Siddaramaiah had also sought to know why Ravi had made 44 calls to his batchmate lady officer at that hour.
Taking exception to the statements of the chief minister, Kumaraswamy said it was clear that the government was trying to tarnish Ravi’s character and hush up the case.
He accused Siddaramaiah of misleading Ravi’s parents by stating that there was not much difference between CID and CBI probes.
Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly, Jagadish Shettar, also referred to Siddaramaiah’s interview and said it was a ploy to damage Ravi’s character. He said it was clear that politicians and business bigwigs were behind Ravi’s death, and accused the government of trying to dilute the case.
Earlier, BJP and JD(S) legislators assembled before the Mahatma Gandhi statue on the Vidhana Soudha premises, went on a ‘padayatra’ and submitted a memorandum to Governor Vajubhai Vala seeking his intervention in getting the death of the officer probed by the CBI.
Both the parties withdrew their dharna in the Legislative Assembly and the Council on Thursday morning, though they continued to air their demand for a CBI probe and raised slogans against the government. They also displayed newspapers which had highlighted the parents of Ravi staging an agitation in front of the Vidhana Soudha seeking a CBI probe.
Some legislators wore black badges as part of the protest. They were in no mood to listen to the ministers who tried to defend the government stand.
Ravi's phone call records have given key leads, says CID
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) probe into the death of IAS officer D K Ravi has revealed that the officer's mobile phone had registered the last call received at 11.22 am on Monday.
Sources said that he had also sent a message after this last call from his mobile phone before taking the extreme step. The CID police are questioning the persons, including a few of his batchmates, based on these calls.
On Thursday, the team of officials from CID questioned Ravi’s car driver and found that the officer was disturbed, while leaving for apartment from his office. Sources said that the call record details had given important leads to the police in the investigation.
“The call records hold the key to this investigation. The teams have been formed with specific jobs to probe the case from all angles. The probe aims at ascertaining the exact reason for the suicide. It could be work related, personal or multiple reasons,” an official said.
The CID team also questioned Commercial Tax Department officials, involved in the investigation in cases of tax evasion by various companies. The officials have collected all files pertaining to the cases handled by the Commercial Department’s Enforcement (South) wing headed by Ravi.
On the other hand, initially Ravi’s family members and people from his village refused to give statements to a team of officials from CID. The CID officials had gone to Doddakoppalu to take statements of Ravi’s family members. The team had recorded the statements of Ravi’s brother and sister.
The officer’s family members objected to the investigation by the CID and demanded a CBI probe into the case. The CID team led by Superintendent of Police Kumaraswamy convinced the family members and assured them a fair investigation. The family members, including Ravi’s father and mother, finally gave their statements to the police team.
A senior official said that CID may submit an interim report to the government in three to four days. The preliminary post mortem report has stated that asphyxiation was the cause of death and that there was no injuries on the officer’s body.