BENGALURU:The Karnataka government fuelled more suspicion on Wednesday by changing the officer investigating the mysterious death of upright IAS officer D K Ravi.

When it became apparent that the decision would be seen as another attempt to cover up what many allege is a murder, it instructed the officer to remain in the same place.

Already rattled by the widespread demand for a CBI inquiry instead of a CID one, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was also forced to step out of the Vidhana Soudha to speak to the officer’s distraught parents, who were protesting outside.

Less than a day after the government handed over the investigation to the Criminal Investigation Department, it moved out Pronab Mohanty, Inspector-General of Police, CID, who was supervising the probe.

He was posted as IG, Karnataka Lokayukta, and C H Prathap Reddy, IGP (Internal Security) was brought in to head the CID.

Minutes after the transfer orders were issued, the government developed cold feet and asked Mohanty not to report at the Lokayukta yet, sources said. DG-IGP Om Prakash said the timing was ‘accidental.’ “I have requested the government not to relieve him till the investigation is completed,” he said.

Mohanty claimed he had asked for the transfer about a week ago. “It is coincidental that it has come through now,” he said.

Parents’ Sit-in at Vidhana Soudha Brings CM Out

Ravi’s parents and family on Wednesday took their fight for a CBI inquiry to the doors of the Vidhana Soudha.

Ravi’s father Kariyappa, mother Gowramma, brother Ramesh, sister Prabha, brother-in-law Nagaraj and others brought the government on its feet as they arrived at the secretariat on Monday afternoon and sat opposite the Kengal Hanumanthaiah statue.

Gowramma and Prabha told reporters they would continue their dharna until a CBI probe was announced. “We will not budge from here till Chief Minister Siddaramaiah comes to us and announces a CBI probe,” Gowramma said.

They threatened to commit suicide opposite the Vidhana Soudha if the chief minister did not accept their demand. The protest venue witnessed high drama for five hours as there was no sign of Siddaramaiah.

After a while, Congress MLAs Ashok Pattan and A Manju arrived as his emissaries to convince the family to go inside the Vidhana Soudha to meet Siddaramaiah.

Ravi’s parents, who looked exhausted, rejected the suggestion outright. “Let him come here and show the basic courtesy of understanding our grief. If he cannot protect honest officers, then we will also end our lives fighting for justice,” Gowramma declared.

As the deadlock continued, Hanumantharayappa, father of Ravi’s wife Kusuma, also arrived. “I have come to express my solidarity for the agitation. I am also here to dismiss reports that relations between the two families are strained,” he said.

Govt Promises Interim Report in Five Days

As the sun began setting, and the situation was about to spin out of control, Siddaramaiah, accompanied by ministers T B Jayachandra, Roshan Baig and Mahadeva Prasad arrived to meet the distraught parents.

He sat with them and tried to explain that a CID probe could be quicker than a CBI one. “We are waiting for post-mortem and forensic reports that will shed light on Ravi’s death. We will present a report within five days in the legislature, which is in session,” the CM said. He said the probe would be conducted by “our own officers who are efficient and honest”. However, he failed to convince the family.

An hour later, Leader of the Opposition Jagadish Shettar and former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy arrived with legislators of their respective parties and spoke to the family.

After 10 minutes, the two leaders addressed the media and blasted Siddaramaiah for rejecting the demand for a CBI inquiry. They also accused him of failing to protect upright officers. The Opposition leaders appealed to Ravi’s family to end their dharna, saying they would have to perform rituals over the next few days.

BJP and JD(S) leaders assured them they would continue their agitation in the legislature, demanding a CBI probe. The family then agreed to withdraw the agitation for now. Kumaraswamy and Shettar questioned the motives of the government in shunting Mohanty and bringing in Reddy to lead the investigation.

“This lends further credence to our stand that the state government is out to bury the case,” Kumaraswamy said.

Father-in-law Sought Transfer Due to Threats

Hanumantharayappa, a Congress leader, told the media he had requested Siddaramaiah to transfer Ravi out of Kolar as he had been facing threats.

“It doesn’t matter if the case is probed by the CID or the CBI, all that we want is that the truth should come out,” he told reporters. Saying Ravi had received threat calls from prominent builders and politicians in Kolar, Hanumantharayappa dismissed the suicide theory.

Everyone Wants CBI - Except the Govt

“I refuse to accept it. I can never believe that. Also there was no family dispute, as some people are suggesting,” Hanumantharayappa said.

Ravi had told his wife Kusuma and her father about the problems he was facing, including the threat calls. “We had advised him to bring it to the chief secretary’s notice. I had also told him to get a transfer to Bengaluru to lead a peaceful life,” Hanumantharayappa said. He said even after Ravi took charge as additional commissioner, he was stressed. “But he never told us anything about threat calls here,” he said.

New Theory : A new theory was doing the rounds on Wednesday. On Saturday night, two days before Ravi’s death, an anonymous caller told him to take a look at a CD kept on his office table, according to rumours. No police confirmation was available.

Protest by Ravi’s Parents

Policemen and officials were taken aback when Ravi’s relatives suddenly appeared at the west gate of the Vidhana Soudha. They tried to stop them, and asked to see their entry passes. This led to a heated exchange, drawing the attention of a large number of media representatives.

Sensing trouble, police then allowed them to sit opposite the Kengal Hanumanthaiah statue.

Rumours on Autopsy Report

Rumours are being spread on popular messaging application WhatsApp claiming that the preliminary autopsy report states that D K Ravi’s lungs were compressed. “It appears to be a planned murder,” said the message, asking for it to be spread around. According to the message, professional killers from Dubai or Europe might have done this and the autopsy report indicated that the death was first by poisoning and later, Ravi was hanged to make it look like a suicide.” However, none of the messages were confirmed by either FSL, police, CID or doctors at Victoria Hospital.