Shortly before his death, Karnataka IAS officer DK Ravi contacted his IAS batchmate once and not over 42 times as earlier reported, the CBI probe has found.Ravi, a former additional commissioner of enforcement in the commercial taxes department, was found hanging from a ceiling fan in his flat on March 16. His death had led to speculation of foul play as he was known to have taken on the state’s building and sand lobbies, and had prompted the Congress government to seek a CBI investigation under pressure from the Opposition. However, there were also reports of a failed relationship with his married batchmate that may have driven him to suicide. “He contacted the batchmate just once, not 42 or 44 times as reported by a section of media earlier,” said a CBI source. “It could be that there was an effort to bring the batchmate as the central theme by some, to suggest the death could have been linked to the person, and not anyone else.” The source said the CBI was yet to reach a conclusion in the case. “The probe is still ongoing. We are probing the circumstances under which the death occurred, if there was any foul play or abetment involved. We are still awaiting the findings of the Central Forensic Science Laboratory.” The CBI’s spokesperson, Kanchan Prasad, said, “With reference to reports in a section of media regarding CBI concluding its investigation in the DK Ravi case, CBI would like to state that all aspects/hypotheses relating to the unnatural death of DK Ravi are being enquired into.”
