IAS officer DK Ravi's death: CBI starts preliminary inquiry

The CBI on Thursday started a preliminary inquiry into the "unnatural" death of Karnataka cadre IAS officer DK Ravi whose body was found hanging at his residence in Bengaluru a month ago.

CBI sources said the agency will examine all scenarios including any foul play into the mysterious death with a team of Special Crime Unit in New Delhi and experts from CFSL likely to visit the crime scene soon.

They said the agency has taken up the case registered by Karnataka Police which is normal practice in the probe of special crime cases referred by the state government.

"The agency takes up the FIR registered by the state police. Further investigation is carried out and final report is submitted to the court on the basis of available evidence.

The findings of the agency may differ from the allegations levelled by the state police," a CBI official clarified.

The CBI team will also meet Bengaluru CID officials for collecting all the documents of the case.

"... The CBI has registered a preliminary enquiry for investigation of a case registered earlier... at Madiwala Police Station into the unnatural death of D K Ravi, IAS, who was working at Additional Commissioner of Commercial Tax (Enforcement) Bengaluru," CBI spokesperson Kanchan Prasad said.

The sources said the agency received the notification from the DoPT on Thursday after which a preliminary inquiry was initiated. If prima facie evidence surfaces which require conversion into FIR, it will be done, they said.

Ravi, an IAS officer of 2009 batch, was found dead on March 16 at his residence in Bengaluru.

His death had snow-balled into a major controversy with Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah initially refusing to seek a CBI probe in the case. The case was handed over to Karnataka CID.