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Massive Protests In Karnataka After IAS Officer DK Ravi Found Dead

Massive Protests In Karnataka After IAS Officer DK Ravi Found Dead
PTI

BENGALURU — Indian Administrative Service officer DK Ravi, posted as Karnataka's additional commissioner, commercial tax, was found dead in his official apartment on Monday evening, police said. While police said it appeared to be a suicide, angry locals protested and demanded an independent probe.

Ravi,36, was a 2009 batch IAS officer and had been credited with taking on the powerful 'sand mafia' and going after tax evaders. Huge crowds gathered outside his residence, where his wife had found his body hanging from a ceiling fan.

There were protests in different parts of Bangalore and Kolar, as people pressed for a thorough probe into his death. There were some incidents where protesters threw stones at the policemen trying to disperse them. Some protestors also blocked a national highway and were chased by the police. Exams in the state have been postponed.

"Prime facie it appears to be a case of suicide, as Ravi's body was found hanging from a ceiling fan," Police Commissioner MN Reddi told reporters here.

"Though we learnt about death late in the evening from his family members, Ravi could have committed suicide anytime after 11 a.m. , as he did not respond to calls since then. He was alone at home at that time," Reddi said. His wife and father-in-law tried to contact him and when he did not respond, went to the apartment. The body was discovered around 6 pm.

The officials and Ravi's wife were shocked to see him hanging with a piece of cloth tied to the fan. Ruling out foul play from the circumstances under which Ravi's body was found, Reddi said a forensic science team had visited the spot and conducted preliminary investigation for clues.

"Rohini and Joint Commissioner of Police Alok Kumar visited the apartment for studying the scene of incident. The special team will investigate the nature and time of Ravi's death though we have no doubt at this point of time this is a case of suicide," Reddi reiterated. However, no suicide note was found, nor did Ravi have a record of depression.

Police will check Ravi's mobile records, entries in the reception office of the apartment, which is in a gated community and footage of the CCTV cameras in the vicinity to find out who all visited the place in the day earlier or recently.

State Home Minister KJ George, Energy Minister DK Shiv Kumar and ruling Congress lawmaker from Kolar district KR Ramesh Kumar and a dozen senior tax officials rushed to Ravi's apartment for a firsthand account of his untimely death.

Mortal remains of late IAS officer DK Ravi, brought to his residence in Bangalore, supporters pay homage. pic.twitter.com/QVBmmD23Jn

— ANI (@ANI_news) March 17, 2015

Mystery deepens around the death of #DKRavi.Cops say it's suicide but his colleagues say he was planning another raid and was not depressed

— Arun Dev (@ArunDev1) March 17, 2015

IAS officer DK Ravi who 'exposed tax frauds of Congress politicians' & ridding encroachments found dead in Bengaluru pic.twitter.com/xR7l8U8KG4

— Rishi Bagree (@rishibagree) March 17, 2015

(With agency inputs)

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.