The people’s protest in front of Town Hall, Bangalore. Photo: Flickr
Bengaluru: The death of a young IAS officer – DK Ravi in Karnataka disrupted proceedings of the Lok Sabha for the third day, stalled business in the State Legislature on Thursday.
In the Lok Sabha, BJP member Prahlad Joshi said the 2009-batch officer, who was found dead in his apartment in Bengaluru on Monday evening, was murdered, and accused the State government of a cover-up as he had initiated action against the real estate lobby.
The protest continued on Friday in several pockets of Karnataka and outside, demanding a CBI probe. Several organization and political parties apart from parents and friends of D.K Ravi are hitting the streets for not handing over the case to the CBI.
Intervening in the matter, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said the Centre would order a CBI investigation if the State government made a recommendation. Further, Mr. Singh informed the House that he had been in touch with the Chief Minister on this case and had been told that a detailed report would be sent to the Centre within two days.
The people’s protest in front of Town Hall, Bangalore. Photo: Flickr
In Bengaluru, a united Opposition, led by the former Chief Minister Jagdish Shettar of the BJP and H.D. Kumaraswamy of the Janata Dal(S), met Governor Vajubhai Rudabhai Vala and submitted a petition seeking a CBI investigation.
However, the State government, which has handed over the investigation to the Criminal Investigation Department of the police, maintained that “it is prima facie a case of suicide.”
Chief Minister Siddaramiah was quoted in a Kannada newspaper as revealing details of Ravi’s call records.
Taking strong exception to the government declaring details of an investigation and stating on the floor of the House the cause of death before the investigations have been completed, former CBI Director R.K. Raghavan told : “The first mistake was for the Police Commissioner and the State government to have declared it as a suicide even before a post mortem was conducted”.
Congress leaders call for CBI probe
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and a few ministers were engaged in a war of words during a Cabinet meeting on Thursday after a section of the Congress, led by Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president G. Parameshwara, favoured a CBI probe into the death of IAS officer D.K. Ravi, who was found dead on Monday.
While Higher Education Minister R.V. Deshpande, Minister of State for Food & Civil Supplies Dinesh Gundu Rao and Parameshwara are in favour of a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe, ministers owing allegiance to Siddaramaiah like Home Minister K.J. George, Public Works Minister H.C. Mahadevappa and Cooperation Minister H.S. Mahadeva Prasad, are opposed to it.
(Agencies)
