IAS officer death case: Ravi made just 3, not 44 calls to batchmate

Mangalore Today News Network

Bengaluru, March 27, 2015: The probe into the mysterious death of young IAS officer DK Ravi has taken yet another turn. The counsel for Ravi’s batchmate and woman IAS officer Rohini Sindhuri has refuted the claims of the Karnataka government and the CID, which tried to ’link’ her with Ravi after the latter’s death. The investigators have claimed that Ravi had harassed the woman IAS officer.

CID officers and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had informed a section of the media that Ravi had made 44 mobile phone calls to Sindhuri in an hour. The CID, which recorded her statement, was reportedly trying to provide a "love angle" to Ravi’s death by trying to link Rohini with the deceased IAS officer.

The findings in the interim report of the CID were supposed to be announced in the Karnataka Legislature on Monday. However, by then, Rohini’s husband Sudhir Reddy managed to obtain a stay from the Karnataka High Court on the government’s move.

In his submission to the high court, Reddy’s advocate Sajan Poovayya informed the court that Sindhuri received only three calls from Ravi on that fateful day and not 44 calls, as claimed by the state government.

"The reports said 44 calls were made in one hour. There were not even four calls. I (husband) was with her," Sajan told the court, quoting Reddy.

The case, which came up for hearing once again on Thursday, was adjourned to April 6. In the meantime, the CBI will take over the probe.

Reddy’s submission to the high court, meanwhile, led to several speculations on the probe. Former Chief Minister and JD-S leader H.D. Kumaraswamy had disputed the government’s version. "If Siddaramaiah proves that Ravi had indeed made 44 calls to the woman IAS officer, I will quit politics. The government is trying to derail the probe by trying to provide a different angle to the case," Kumaraswamy said.

A section of the police has claimed that Ravi had borrowed `10 lakh from Rohini to purchase a property. They contended that Rohini’s husband Reddy had deposited `10 lakh into the account of a Bengalurubased real estate firm on behalf of Ravi.

Another section of the police pointed out that the state government was trying to link up Rohini with Ravi to deviate the CBI. "Even now, there are tacit attempts by the government to influence the case. We hope that the CBI gets to the bottom of this," a police officer said.

Ravi was found dead under mysterious circumstances on March 16 at his governmentallotted apartment in Bengaluru. While the police called it a suicide, his family, friends and Opposition parties sought a CBI probe into the death. They demanded that all angles of the case be probed thoroughly. The issue later led to a public outcry across the state with thousands of people taking to the streets, demanding a CBI probe.


Courtesy: Indiatoday