BJP raises death of officer in LS, demands CBI inquiry

The issue of the mysterious death of IAS officer D K Ravi in Bengaluru came up in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, with BJP members calling it a ‘failure’ of the Congress government in Karnataka and demanding a CBI probe.

Pralhad Joshi of the BJP raised the issue in the House and was supported by other MPs of his party. Shortly after Joshi criticised Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and the State government, Congress MP S P Muddahanume Gowda expressed his willingness to associate himself with the BJP parliamentarian from Dharwad.

Joshi referred to the stern actions Ravi had taken against land grabbers and sand-mining mafia during his tenure as the deputy commissioner of Kolar. He also referred to the raids the young IAS officer had conducted as Additional Commissioner (Commercial Tax) on private companies evading taxes. He said the State government had not supported Ravi in his good efforts in Kolar and transferred him out of the district.

“When he became the Additional Commissioner, Enforcement of Commercial Tax, he started raiding many commercial establishments evading tax, which include the Home Minister’s establishment. The Home Minister’s farm was also raided,” said Joshi.
He was apparently referring to Home Minister of Karnataka K J George. “Then, in mysterious circumstances, he was found dead. Now, it is being projected that he has committed suicide,” said Joshi, adding, “This is the failure of the Karnataka government and also the chief minister of Karnataka.”

As Gowda also rose when Joshi was speaking, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan asked him if he wanted to associate himself with the BJP MP. The Congress MP from Dharwad responded affirmatively. 

Joshi raised the issue of the IAS officer’s death and demanded a CBI inquiry at a time when the Lok Sabha was witnessing uproar over the vandalisation of a church in Haryana and the rape of an elderly nun in West Bengal.

Mallikarjun Kharge, leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha, and other MPs were on their feet, demanding an explanation from the government over the “rising incidents of religious intolerance”. Joshi took a dig at Kharge stating that the Congress MP from Gulbarga did not want Ravi’s death to be raised in the House.