In death, IAS officer D. K. Ravi unleashes a storm

Bengaluru: Tension gripped Kolar on Tuesday as angry mobs vandalized homes of prominent politicians, attacked convoys of leaders heading to Kunigal and tore down Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s cut-out as the man, seen by farmers of Kolar as the only person who cared enough to settle their disputes over the boundary of their farmlands was given a hero's farewell at his funeral in his village of Doddakoppalu in Kunigal, Tumakuru, 90 kms from Bengaluru.

The 35 year old D. K. Ravi’s popularity stemmed from his four year long battle against the powerful sand mining and land mafia that the young IAS officer targeted in Gulbarga, Kolar and even after he was transferred to Bengaluru, reportedly at the behest of his father-in-law, a prominent Congress leader in the area.

Despite several theories doing the rounds on what led to the suicide of the upright IAS officer and Additional Commissioner of Commercial Tax (Enforcement), the investigating team have ascertained that the officer took the extreme step as he and his wife Kusuma had grown apart, developing differences over not having children, caring for his ailing mother with whom Ravi had a strong bond, and even allegedly developing a relationship with another IAS officer.

“Everything has been revealed when we questioned the relatives of both Ravi and Kusuma,” a source said. “Mr. Ravi did not leave any note before ending his life, fearing that his public image would take a beating,” said the police team, who updated Home Minister K. J. George, who in turn, told the Legislative Assembly and Council that “personal reasons” were behind the death.

The post-mortem report will be out in ten days.