Bengaluru, Mar 18 (NDTV): A day after Chief Minister Siddaramaiah turned down the demands for a CBI inquiry into the death of IAS officer DK Ravikumar, Union law minister and senior BJP leader Sadananda Gowda said he would meet the state home minister KJ George today to request for a CBI probe.
The overnight dharna of opposition BJP and JD(S) lawmakers, meanwhile, continued in the Karnataka assembly.
"There is a great suspicion in the minds of the people of Karnataka. Neither the state government nor the investigation agencies can conduct a free, fair investigation," Gowda said.
The death of Ravi, which the police are suspecting to be a case of suicide, triggered violent protests in Kolar and Bengaluru yesterday.
The officer - who took on the sand mafia in Kolar - had a reputation of being upright, tough and honest. Suspecting a possibility of foul play in his death, the locals and political leaders who knew him, raised a demand for CBI probe.
But on Tuesday, Siddaramaiah said the police were "perfectly capable" of doing the job and the case had been handed over to the state Criminal Investigation Department.
Regarding the opposition protest, Siddaramaiah said he had met some of the leaders at the Vidhan Soudha. "I tried to persuade them to the let the budget session continue, but they didn't agree," he said.
Opposition leaders say they will continue with their protests until a CBI inquiry in the case is ordered.
"On what ground did the police decide so quickly that it was a suicide case? There should be a free and fair inquiry into the death," senior BJP Leader KS Eshwarappa told NDTV.
"DK Ravi was a very honest officer. He was murdered because of political reasons," senior BJP leader BS Yeddyurappa was quoted as saying by news agency ANI. "We, the MLAS of all opposition parties, demand a CBI inquiry. The chief minister should come forward and hand over the case to the CBI."
Ravi was found dead in his apartment in Bengaluru on Sunday. His wife returned home to find him hanging from a ceiling fan. He was cremated in Bengaluru's suburb Nagarbhavi.
Opposition eats, drinks, sleeps in protest for CBI probe
Bengaluru, Mar 18 (DHNS): White rice, sambar, bisibele bhath, curd rice, chapati, palya, pickle, papad. All these and more were part of the menu for dinner served to the BJP and the JD(S) legislators who staged an overnight protest in the Assembly and the Council.
The members are staging a protest, demanding that the government hand over to the CBI the investigation into the death of D K Ravi.The protesting members in the Assembly were served dinner prepared at Basant Residency restaurant, while those in the Council got their food from the Legislators’ Home (LH) canteen. Only vegetarian food was served to the members.
The protesting members were provided pillow and bedsheet for them to have a comfortable sleep. The Assembly and the Council secretariat has made arrangements for the Wednesday morning breakfast for the members. The breakfast will comprise idli, vada, chow chow bath, coffee and tea. A team of doctors is stationed in the Assembly and the Council to attend to the medical needs of the legislators.
Official sources in the legislature said each meal served to the MLAs may cost about Rs 300, while the Council estimated it to be at Rs 100 each. The Council secretariat had procured pillow and bed sheets from an outside agency, while the Assembly secretariat brought them from the LH canteen. Assembly Speaker Kagodu Thimmappa and Council Chairman D H Shankaramurthy held a meeting with the officials and directed them to make all the arrangements. The watch and ward staff and the secretariat staff were also served with food.
The protesting legislators took turns to visit the LH to freshen up. They came back in night dress to the Assembly. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah visited the Assembly and the Council later in the evening and oversaw the arrangements. Some members including Jagadish Shettar and H D Kumaraswamy attended the funeral of Ravi and were expected to return to the House to join the dharna.