Bengaluru: The State government has been directed by the Karnataka High Court not to make public the contents of the interim report of the ongoing investigation into the unnatural death of D K Ravi, a 2009-batch IAS officer.

The court also restrained the government from making any public statement pertaining to the probe.

Following the Opposition parties’ demand for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into Ravi’s death, the government had planned to place the interim report of CID before the State legislature on Monday, before taking a decision on referring the case to the CBI.

The court order, in effect, means that the government cannot go ahead with its plan.

The order was passed by Justice Abdul Nazeer at his residence during the special hearing of a petition by Sudhir Reddy, the husband of IAS officer Rohini Sindhuri Dasari, who is the CEO of Mandya Zilla Panchayat. Reddy sought that the interim report be not made public as the investigation was still under progress.

“Such an act by the State government to place the report before the legislature at this juncture of the investigation is premature and against the law. It also defies logic,” said an advocate connected with the case.

The government has said that Ravi committed suicide on March 16 for personal reasons.
According to reports, the police found that on the fateful day, Ravi had made 44 calls from his mobile phone to his batchmate Rohini. It is said that Ravi was forcing Rohini to divorce her husband and marry him.

The Opposition parties have said Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was desisting from ordering a CBI probe only to shield a minister whose realty firm was raided by Ravi.

The Opposition parties are of the view that the government wants to dilute the case by highlighting that Ravi ended his life as his repeated proposals were turned down by the woman bureaucrat.

Rohini’s husband, in the petition, has made the Chief Secretary, Additional Chief Secretary (Home), DG&IGP and Inspector General of Police (CID) as the respondents.

“The respondents are restrained from making or publishing any interim report or making any public statement pertaining to the investigation being conducted with regard to the unnatural death of D K Ravi, an IAS officer, pending disposal of this writ petition. This, however, will not prevent the respondents from continuing with the investigation,” the order said.

The hearing of the plea has been scheduled for 2:30 pm on Monday. The judge also ordered emergent notices to the respondents to appear in the court in person or through an advocate at 10:30 am on Monday.

Meanwhile, Rohini Sindhuri, CEO, Mandya Zilla Panchayat, to whom Ravi allegedly made innumerable calls has written on her FB profile that “Truth will Prevail.”

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