Bengaluru: IAS officer DK Ravi, who had taken on the sand mafia as deputy commissioner of Kolar district, allegedly committed suicide on Monday. The body of the 35-year-old was found in his official apartment last evening.
Ravi’s body was found in his apartment after he returned from office in the evening around 7 p.m. We are investigating to find out the cause of his death,” a police officer told IANS. the body has been sent ot post-martem and the report will throw light on the cause of the death, according to standard procedure.
The police prima facie suspect it to be a suicide but pressed dog squad and other checks to rule out foul play. He was transferred earlier when he took on sand mafia, according Raithara Sangha of Kolar, which protested his transfer to Bangalore.
His wife Kusuma tried to call him when the lunch sent to him was not taken and rushed to the apartment and opened with a duplicate key to find him hanging from the ceiling. Bangalore Police Commissioner M.N. Reddi, officials of the commercial tax office and some political leaders rushed to Ravi’s flat.
“We are checking his mobile call records, entries in the gated community’s reception where his apartment is located and footage of the CCTV cameras located in the area to ascertain who all had visited the place,” the officer said.
Ravi, a 2009 IAS batch officer, was instrumental in cleansing the system in Kolar and was known for his honest efforts to clear encroachments, sand mafia and tax fraud. Bangalore police Commissioner M.N. Reddi said a special team led by DCP South East Rohini Katoch, who is also a medical doctor, will probe the death.
I have spoken to (Police) Commissioner and have asked him to investigate the matter completely,” Karnataka Home Minister KJ George said reporters. George, who visited the spot, however, did not comment on the nature and possible reasons behind the death. It has to be investigated… All angles will be looked into,” he said when asked about reports that the officer faced threats to his life.
The IAS officer had been hailed as a hero by people in Kolar for his work in the region and was involved in several stand-offs with local politicians and even the superintendent of police for taking on the sand mafia. Following the simmering differences in Kolar, Ravi was transferred to Bangalore on October 29, 2014 by the Congress government. In his tenure in the commercial taxes department Ravi had ensured collection of taxes to the tune of over Rs 100 crore and had forced several top builders and jewellers in Bangalore to pay up dues.
Police sources said that Ravi went to his office in the National Games Village complex in Koramangala in south Bangalore on Monday morning but returned home before noon. “What he did on Monday was an aberration from his normal work day,’’ Reddi said. Home Minister K J George and MLAs from the Kolar and Chikkaballapur region visited the IAS officer’s apartment following his death to pay homage.
Ravi’s work as Kolar Deputy Commissioner, especially action against the sand mafia, had earned him good name among the people, different organisations and citizens’ groups who had called a district bandh following his transfer. Meanwhile, a bandh has been called in Kolar in response to DK Ravi’s death.
Bureau report
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