DK Ravi case: BJP slams "dirty tricks" of Karnataka govt

Bengaluru, May 21: BJP today slammed the Karnataka government for its "dirty tricks" in the case relating to the mysterious death of an upright IAS officer following reports that he had called his woman batchmate only once and not 44 times on the day he was found dead in his apartment.

"No government has the right to damage the reputation of a person, especially of someone who is dead...Government should not become a dirty tricks department.

It is uncalled for," BJP's state senior leader Suresh Kumar told reporters here. He questioned Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's earlier statement that D K Ravi made 44 calls to his woman IAS batchmate.

"I read in newspapers that Ravi did not make 44 calls as was reported earlier - there was only one call. Now who will compensate for the damage caused on Ravi and to the serving bureaucrat," he said.

"Whatever might have been his compulsions, it (government) should not have indulged in such dirty tricks. Even now the government should understand its duty," he said.

Kumar said the Siddaramaiah government handed over the case to CBI on Congress High Command's directions, not on demands made by people and Ravi's parents.

CBI had started a preliminary inquiry last month into the "unnatural" death of Ravi, an IAS officer of 2009 batch whose body was found hanging at his residence in Bengaluru on March 16.

In its preliminary report, the central agency has found that Ravi had apparently telephoned a woman IAS batchmate only once on the day of his alleged suicide as against claims that he had called her 44 times.

The agency has, however, clarified it is yet to arrive at any conclusion as far as the unnatural death of Ravi was concerned and that the probe is still on in this regard.

PTI