IAS officer DK Ravikumar was found dead in his apartment in Bengaluru
The Indian Administrative Service officers in Karnataka have lent their voice to the rising demand for a CBI inquiry into the death of colleague DK Ravi. Many of them are among the 13.5 lakh people who have signed an online petition to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"There are attempts from some quarters to assassinate the character of the IAS officer," news agency Press Trust of India quoted M Madana Gopal, Additional Chief Secretary (Environment, Forest and Ecology) as saying. "We won't allow attempts to kill Ravi for second time."
Mr Gopal, however, said he was not questioning the credentials of state-run investigating agencies. "They are able, but this case is of different genre and should be given to an independent agency," the IAS officer said.
The lawmakers of opposition BJP and JDS, who are on an indefinite protest over the issue since yesterday, have spent another night at the Assembly building.
The state government has dug in its heels, with both Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and state home minister KJ George ruling it out.
Yesterday, Union Law Minister Sadananda Gowda of the BJP said he would meet Home Minister Rajnath Singh to demand a CBI inquiry.
The 36-year-old IAS officer, who had taken on the sand mafia during his tenure as district collector in Kolar and was reportedly still getting threats, was found hanging at his Bengaluru apartment on Monday. The police have said "prima facie", it was a case of suicide.
Mr Ravi's parents, who sat on a dharna yesterday after conducting the last rites, have threatened to commit suicide unless justice was done. His father-in-law Hanumantharayappa, at whose home the officer had spent the weekend, alleged that he had told him he was "being targeted" by a particular group.(Read:
I Want Justice, Says DK Ravi's Mother)
Last year, Ravi was deputed to the Commercial Tax department. He was investigating real estate majors and big jewellers for alleged tax evasion and had conducted several big raids.