Bengaluru/New Delhi, Apr 3 (DHNS): Even as procedures are underway to formally hand over the probe into the mysterious death of IAS officer D K Ravi to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), there has been no investigation into the case in the past 12 days.
Sources in the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) said that the probe was stopped after the State government decided to hand over the case to the CBI. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced in the Assembly on March 23, the decision to hand over the probe to the CBI. The next day a notification in this regard was sent to the Union government.
Even 12 days after the announcement, the order has not reached the CBI headquarters in New Delhi. Sources said the recommendation letter from the State is being processed by the Ministry of Personnel, which is the controlling authority of the CBI. Officials of the Ministry of Home said that they were yet to get a copy of the letter from the Ministry of Personnel. Central government sources find nothing unusual in the delay in sanctioning the CBI probe. They said there would not be any problem in getting the sanction as the State government itself had recommended it.
“The CBI investigation can be sanctioned in one day or in a week. In this case, there should not be any trouble. If it is being delayed, it is just because it is not the first priority,” a senior official told Deccan Herald. The CBI said that it would take up the case once the Centre issues the notification. Asked about the State CID not continuing its investigation, the officials said if they wished, they could continue the probe.
“The State has given a recommendation. Because of that, the CID need not stop its investigation,” the official said. He cited the West Bengal police’s handling of the nun gangrape case.
On March 19, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced that she would recommend the case to be handed over to the CBI. But, the State CID continued its investigation and arrested the accused on March 26. This arrest was, however, cited by the Centre to reject the State’s recommendation for a CBI probe into the case. In the Ravi case, the CID has not continued the investigation. A senior CID official said, “Once the CBI probe is ordered, it is the practice to stop the investigation. Normally, the formalities involved in handing over a probe to CBI take two weeks,” the official said.
Though CID had prepared an interim report to be submitted to the State government, it could not do so in the wake of the High Court stay, following a petition by Sudhir Reddy, husband of IAS officer Rohini Sindhoori, a batchmate of Ravi.