Personal reasons behind officer suicide: Karnataka government

Wife Kusuma and relatives pay last respects to Ravi Tuesday. (Source: PTI)

The Karnataka government said IAS officer D K Ravi, whose death under mysterious circumstances created furore, committed suicide due to personal reasons according to preliminary police investigation.

Ravi, a 2009 batch IAS officer, was found hanging in the bedroom of his government-rented flat in south Bangalore on Monday evening by his wife Kusuma and her father Hanumantharayappa, a Congress leader.

Amid opposition demand for a CBI probe on Tuesday, the government placed a statement in the state assembly stating that preliminary investigation had revealed that Ravi committed suicide due to personal reasons. “The police have obtained evidence indicating that the suicide occurred due to personal reasons. Since this is an ongoing investigation we would not like to reveal further details,” Karnataka Home Minister K J George said. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah told the BJP and JD(S) members demanding a CBI probe that his government was willing to order a speedy probe by the CID.

“There is no doubt that he was a good, upright officer. His father-in-law Hanumantharayappa, who is a friend of mine from my days in the JD(S), approached me around four months ago and sought a good Bangalore posting for his son-in-law. The position of additional commissioner enforcement in the Commercial Tax Department is an important position so we posted him there,” Chief Minister Siddaramaiah told the assembly.

Police and forensic sources said the death was a clear case of suicide. “The death occurred around 11 or 11.30 am. The officer may have laid down on the mattress on the floor of his bedroom for a while before committing suicide. It is a case of hanging. There were no other injuries on the body,” sources said. The post-mortem report is yet to be finalised.

Ravi, who was serving as the additional commissioner for enforcement in the Commercial Tax Department of the Karnataka government, went to work on Monday around 10.30 am and headed home after a meeting. He had spent the weekend at his father-in-law’s residence with his wife.

Meanwhile, the last rites were performed at his village near Kunigal where a huge crowd gathered. His death triggered protests at various places in the state including the Kolar and Tumkur districts.

Police sources said that Ravi was experiencing problems on the marital front in terms of adjustments. The IAS officer, who hailed from a very humble background, had been planning to bring his own parents to live with him. “Our son Ravi had asked us to stay with him for a while. He had asked us to be ready on Tuesday. He told us the government had given him a good house where we could also stay,” Ravi’s father Kariyappa, a small farmer, said. Ravi’s parents had met him at a family function in Bangalore on Sunday.

A Bangalore police team lead by DCP Rohini Katoch questioned Ravi’s father-in-law and Congress leader Hanumantharayappa for over an hour and recorded a statement. A second team revisited the crime scene and questioned neighbours about Ravi’s relationship with his wife.

Source:: Indian Express