In a suspected case of suicide, IAS officer DK Ravikumar was found hanging at his official residence in Bengaluru's Koramangla locality. Ravikumar had taken on the sand mafia in Kolar district of Karnataka; he was 36 years old.
Addressing the reporters, Police Commissioner MN Reddi said: "Prima facie it appears to be a case of suicide. His body was found hanging from a ceiling fan." Reddi also made the point that it was Ravi's wife who had found him hanging in their apartment, reports NDTV.
On finding that her husband had not gone to work and was not responding to her calls, Mr Ravi's wife went to check on him. "She, accompanied by couple of department officials, went to the apartment to check if he was at home. As there was no response from inside, the flat was opened with a duplicate key that she had," Mr Reddi said.
He added that no suicide note had been found; and that a three-member team has been formed to look into the case.
Police further said that they are likely to scrutinise the CCTV cameras fitted in the vicinity, Mr Ravi's mobile records and the entry records of his apartment's reception.
State Home Minister KJ George, Congress lawmaker from Kolar district KR Ramesh Kumar and Energy Minister DK Shiv Kumar along with a dozen senior tax officials visited Mr Ravi's family on hearing about his death.
"All angles will be looked into. He was an upright officer. His death is a great loss to the state," Mr George said.
Meanwhile, Ravikumar's death has sparked off protests in Kolar as well as Bengaluru.
