From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru
Bengaluru, Mar 24: Adding further twists and turns to the tragic death of young IAS officer D K Ravi in his own ninth floor flat in the posh Prestige St Johns Wood Apartment block on Tavarekere Main Road on March 16, anti-corruption activist T J Abraham has filed a complaint with the Madiwala Police against the deceased officer’s wife Kusuma and father-in-law Hanumantharayappa under Sections 306 and 201 of Indian Penal Code.
While Section 306 of IPC deals with abetment of suicide, Section 201 deals with causing disappearance of evidence of offence or giving false information to screen offender.
It may be recalled that the death of D K Ravi, who had endeared himself to the people of his native Tumakuru district as well as Kolar district, where he served as Deputy Commissioner and later for his fearless and upright role as Additional Commissioner of Commercial Taxes Department in Bengaluru, when he took on the high and mighty political as well as prominent business leaders, had been first referred to the State CID for investigation by the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. However, due to the intense protests, dharnas by the parents of the deceased as well as opposition BJP and JD(S) and the general public besides the intervention of Congress President Sonia Gandhi, the chief minister has entrusted the investigation to CBI.
Was Kusuma married and husband kept in dark?
In a startling claim, Abraham in his complaint, states that DK Ravi’s wife Kusuma, lecturer in a city-based engineering college, "had reportedly eloped and secretly married her beau while in college" and that he (DK Ravi) "was also upset that Kusuma had not revealed her own past."
Abraham, in his complaint filed with the Madiwala police, has sought registering of an FIR in the shocking death or suicide of D K Ravi, who served as Additional Commissioner of Commercial Taxes Department after being transferred to Bengaluru from his post of being the Deputy Commissioner of Kolar district, has raised serious questions on whether the death was a suicide or murder and whether the deceased had left a suicide note and if it had been removed from the flat going by the police version of not finding any death note.
The complaint, which has several conjectures based mainly on TV or newspaper reports that have been cited as annexures, claims that companies like Champion Reef Golf County of Confident Group, accused of encroaching 48 acres of government land in Hachala village near Kolar (with which local Congress MLA K M Narayanaswamy was associated), Nitesh Estates Pvt Ltd, Embassy Group (with which State Home Minister K J George or his son are associated), Asset Properties on Infantry Road, Golden Gate in Koramangala, Mantri Group of companies, Rajesh Exports, Pebble Bay Developers in Sanjaynagar and RMZ Corp Developers, which had been "directly and indirectly" affected by the actions of the "non-corrupt, upright, honest and courageous" officer, could have been involved if the death of found to be a murder and therefore all the persons involved in the companies must be treated as "suspects/accused in the murder."
Abraham also raised questions on why the deceased DK Ravi, who went to his office in Koramangala at 10.30 am on March 16 from his father-in-law’s house in Mallathahalli in Nagarabhavi, "without wearing his trademark crisp linen shirt to work" and rushed to his flat after holding a 20-minute meeting in his office. "Given the character and proven track record of DK Ravi, none of the publicly known enemies could have forced or threatened him to his flat at that time. So one thing is clear that he volunteered/agreed to go to his house on being asked," the complaint said and wondered it could be "for personal or emotional reasons."
The complaint also mentions that "His wife, who was staying in her father’s house in Mallathalli, tried to contact him over phone. As he did not answer the calls, she contacted his office where she was told he had left the office in the morning. Kusuma, Ravi’s wife of four years, tried to call him later. As there was no response, she called his office and was told he had left. She called Ravi’s driver, who told her he was at the apartment and had not come out. His wife Kusuma’s two phone calls went unanswered. When she called his driver in the afternoon, she was told that Ravi left the office for home in the morning.When Kusuma failed to reach Ravi on his mobile phone, she called the driver around 4.30 pm."
"The incident came to light at around 6.30pm when Ravi’s wife, Kusuma, a lecturer in Ambedkar Institute of Technology, and her father came to the flat on the ninth floor of Prestige St Johns wood apartment on Tavarekere Main Road. Worried over Ravi not responding to their calls, they used a duplicate key to enter the home, and found him hanging. Kusuma opened the door to their flat using a duplicate key around 6.30 pm. His wife and father-in-law found him hanging from the ceiling fan in one of the bedrooms by an orange saree with a black border," Abraham’s complaint said and pointed out that the "first entrants to the apartment were DK Ravi’s wife and her father."
Was there a death note? If so, who removed it?
Quoting the statement made by City Police Commissiner M N Reddy to the media that "as things stand, it appears to be a suicide. I cannot say anything more as investigation is still on. No death note was found. Prima facie, it looks like a case of suicide. Until the inquest is conducted, we cannot come to a conclusive understanding,"Abraham said and wondered if it was a case of suicide "a person would surely leave a death note to avoid unnecessary trouble/complications to unconnected people" as he is an educated and literate person.
Abraham also mentions that D K Ravi’s batchmate IAS officer, Rohini Sindhuri, presently serving as Chief Executive Officer of Mandya Zilla Panchayat and whose husband Sudhir Reddy was responsible for restraining the State Government and the CID from disclosing any details or reports and thereby prevented the chief minister from tabling the interim investigation report in the State Legislature before announcing the Government’s decision to entrust the investigation to the CBI, had met the State Chief Secretary Kaushik Mukherji regarding the telephone calls and pressure from DK Ravi to marry him. The IAS batchmate of DK Ravi had also rushed to Bengaluru after learning about the death and met the Chief Secretary in the light of media reports regarding the "romantic links" and also that "DK Ravi had called her several times on Monday and threatened to take extreme step if she did not cooperate (to his request to marry him)" and had also told the Chief Secretary of her willingness to cooperate with the police officers during the probe," the complaint said.
Abraham has also raised questions on whether DK Ravi’s wife and "well-connected" father-in-law were responsible for "removing" the death note if it was left by the deceased and whether they had threatened to file a dowry harassment case against the deceased officer, which coupled with his batchmate’s "resolute rejection of his advances" may have "escalated levels of stress" leading to the suicide. In view of all these facts and genuine doubts, Abraham has sought registering the FIR under Sections 306 and 201 of IPC for abetment of suicide and causing disappearance of evidence of offence or giving false information to screen offender.