BENGALURU: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which will be investigating the death of IAS officer D K Ravi, may pursue a line of enquiry different from that of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
The CID has been accused of looking only at the suicide angle, ignoring other possible reasons for Ravi’s death.
In fact, City Police Commissioner M N Reddi also came under fire from the legislators for stating that prima facie, it was a case of suicide.
The central agency will file a First Information Report, and the FIR filed by the state police will be part of the document.
Sources in the CBI told Express that the investigation will be based on the facts gathered by the agency’s officers. “Once the case is handed over to the CBI, the state government or the police will have no role in it. The line of investigation and everything else will be decided by the agency officers,” sources said.
CBI officers from Chennai or its headquarters in New Delhi are likely to be put on the job as the CBI office in Bengaluru deals only with corruption cases, sources said.
On Monday, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced in the Assembly that the state will seek a CBI probe and that the government will write to the Centre in this regard. A notification under the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act has to be issued by the Centre asking the CBI to probe the case.
Former additional director of CBI L Revanasiddaiah said there is hardly any difference between the CID and the CBI in terms of conducting an investigation. “The CBI, however, is a higher platform. Its officers are presumed to be impartial and insulated from external pressure,” he said. While in the CBI, Revanasiddaiah was part of teams that probed many high-profile cases, including the Bofors scandal and the fodder scam. He had also worked as Bengaluru police commissioner.
Revanasiddaiah said, “As of now, it is registered as a case of ‘unnatural death’, but depending on the evidence, the CBI may register it as a suicide or even murder. It all depends on the facts.”
The 36-year-old IAS officer, who had taken on the sand mafia and realtors evading taxes, was found hanging in his apartment. The 2009 batch officer was transferred from Kolar to Bengaluru as Additional Commissioner of Commercial Taxes (Enforcement) following pressure from local politicians. However, the charge has been denied by the government.
ravi’s Family Welcomes Decision
“We welcome the CBI probe and will fully cooperate,” said Ravi’s father-in-law Hanumantharayappa. He told reporters on Monday, “I am thankful to the chief minister for handing over the case to the CBI. The truth has to come out because my son-in-law was not the kind of person who would commit suicide.”