Social activist Nutan Thakur on Tuesday appealed for a thorough investigation in the death of Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer D.K. Ravi, who took on the sand mafia in Karnataka's Kolar District, terming his decease 'suspicious'.
"The way Ravi ji's body has been found, the whole matter is obviously suspicious. The entire case should be thoroughly investigated. He took on the sand mafia and certain land mafias," Thakur said.
"I can very well understand how such an officer, who fights against corruption, is made to face many hurdles. They are threatened and all kinds of efforts are made to stop them. The unauthorized work involve huge amount of money. That's why the culprits make all kinds of efforts to stop them," she added.
Preliminary investigations suggest that D.K. Ravi allegedly committed suicide at his official residence in Bengaluru's Koramangala area.
An officer of 2009 batch, the 36-year-old officer was an Additional Commissioner on deputation with the Commercial Tax department.
"Prima facie it appears to be a case of suicide. His body was found hanging from a ceiling fan," Police Commissioner M N Reddi told reporters.
He added that it was Ravi's wife who found him hanging tied to a piece of cloth in their apartment.
Police said the officer's dead body was discovered around lunch time in the flat.
Police said they are likely to analyze Ravi's mobile records, entry records of his apartment's reception, and CCTV cameras fitted in the vicinity.
State Home Minister K J George, Energy Minister D K Shiv Kumar, Congress lawmaker from Kolar District K R Ramesh Kumar and a dozen senior tax officials paid condolence visits on the Ravi family on hearing about his death.
George said that all angles will be looked into to determine what caused Ravi's death. He also described the death as a great loss to the state of Karnataka.
