IAS officer DK Ravikumar, who was found hanging in his Bengaluru home last Monday
Amid protests over the death of IAS officer DK Ravikumar, who was found hanging in his home in Bengaluru last week, the Karnataka government has handed over the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation or CBI.
Sonia Gandhi, the president of the state's ruling Congress, had written to the officer's wife assuring a fair investigation into his death and had also spoken to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah last week. Her assurance came after DK Ravi's mother wrote an open letter to her, which was published in the newspapers.
The 36-year-old officer was found hanging by his wife's sari from a ceiling fan in his apartment in an upscale area of Bengaluru last Monday.
The police then said it appeared to be a case of suicide, which led to outrage and protests by the officer's family, friends and opposition parties.
DK Ravi was known as an upright officer who boldly took on the powerful sand mafia in Kolar about 100 km from the state capital, despite many threats to his life. The 2009 batch officer had been transferred last year.
On Sunday, the High Court stopped the government from making public an initial report on what it called the "unnatural death" of the officer.
The court acted on a petition by the husband of an IAS officer who knew DK Ravi and, according to media reports, was the last to have been in touch with him. The woman has reportedly shared information with the state's Criminal Investigation Department, which has prepared the interim inquiry report.
Last week,
the officer's family members protested outside the state assembly until the Chief Minister arrived and spoke to them.
The opposition has rejected any personal reason behind the death and alleged a cover-up by the government into the death of an honest officer.
"We respect public sentiment. We are not doing anything for political gains," Mr Siddaramaiah said in the house, confronting allegations that he had acted only after his party president stepped in.