Transfer IAS officer's death case to CBI only on merit: Digvijaya Singh

Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Monday said the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) should be allowed to probe the mysterious death of IAS officer D.K.Ravi only if the need arises.

"I think in any case, the preliminary investigation has to be done by the state police and, only if they feel there is a need for a CBI investigation enquiry, then only the case should be transferred," Singh told ANI.

"Ravi was a very honest and hard working officer and we are all sorry for the way he has gone," he added.

Earlier in the day, Siddaramaiah decided to handover the death case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for investigation.

"I have decided to handover the case to the CBI for investigation. I had said that CID will investigate and a senior official of CID had started the investigation. We will give a status report on the investigation while the assembly is in session, but even that is not acceptable to the opposition," said Siddaramaiah in the Karnataka State Assembly.

He further said that one should not do politics over someone's death saying, "We are not here to make political capital over deaths."

The chief minister's political capital remark was met by an opposition uproar in the assembly.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi had written a letter to Ravi's wife assuring her of a fair probe in the death case of her husband, earlier today.

Karnataka Pradesh Congress president G Parameshwara had earlier on Saturday requested Siddaramaiah to order a CBI inquiry into the case and had said that the truth in this matter should come to the fore without any confusion.

Ravi, posted as Joint Commissioner in Commercial Tax Department, was found hanging from a ceiling fan in his apartment by his wife on March 16. The police suspect it to be a case of suicide, though no note was found from around the officer's body.