IAS officer had no family issues bothering him: Hanumantharayappa

Bengaluru, Mar 19 (DHNS): Ravi’s father-in-law Hanumantharayappa on Wednesday said that Bangarpet MLA S N Narayanaswamy had pressured Ravi in support of Confident Group, a real estate firm accused of encroaching government land in Kolar district.

Hanumantharayappa said that because of this pressure, he had requested Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to transfer Ravi to any post in Bengaluru.

Hanumantharayappa, a Congress leader, was addressing a press meet at his house at Mallathahalli in Nagarabhavi.

“During Ravi's stint as Kolar DC, there was pressure from politicians. Narayanaswamy was favouring Confident Group and had been putting pressure on Ravi. When Ravi told me about repeated threats and pressures, I requested the chief minister to post my son-in-law in Bengaluru. I have never interfered in his work, except during his transfer from Kolar,” he said.

Hanumantharayappa said that Ravi had no family issues bothering him. “I have been reading some reports that my daughter was not ready to live with Ravi’s parents. I would like to clarify that all these reports are false. In fact, my daughter wanted to move to the apartment since the government-allotted quarters in Vasanthnagar was under renovation. My daughter wanted to move into the apartment along with Ravi’s parents. During the weekend, Ravi had spoken to the engineer in charge of renovation work of the quarters and told him that he would visit the house along with my daughter for inspection,” Hanumantharayappa said.

Asked about the statement by Home Minister K J George that the suicide was due to some personal problem, Hanumantharayappa said Ravi was not the one who would commit suicide.

“On Monday morning, Ravi was normal. He received a call from Kalaburagi regarding work and he told the caller to meet him on Tuesday to discuss the issue. If it turns out to be true that Ravi committed suicide owing to personal reasons, I feel he has betrayed his parents, his wife and his in-laws,'' Hanumantharayappa said.

Asked about the reports that Ravi had made the last call to an IAS officer, Hanumantharayappa said a detailed probe would reveal all aspects.

“His phone call record details will throw up all details. I demand a thorough investigation into the case by CBI or any such agency. He would have left a note if he had committed suicide. The police in our presence searched for the suicide note in his pockets and purse, however nothing was found. I had even called Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southeast) Rohini Katoch Sepat on Wednesday morning to know if any note was found during the investigation. She said the probe has been handed over to CID. Even if he faced any threats with his present assignment, probe will reveal everything,” he said.