IAS officer death: "Won't believe it is suicide even if God tells us"

Even if God tells us that he committed suicide we will not believe it is what one person in Kolar said when asked for his reaction to the death of IAS officer D K Ravi. The reactions to the death of the Additional Commissioner in the Commercial Taxes department has been extreme in Kolar where he served as a Deputy Commissioner and took on the mighty sand mafia.

Kolar has shut down today as a mark of respect for the young officer who was not just a Deputy Commissioner for them, but a friend and guide who always had his ears open to listen to their problems.

The people want answers and want them soon. They feel that there is more than what meets the eye in the death of the officer and many say that he was too tough and bold to take such a decision. The police say that they suspect no foul play as yet and it appears to be a straight forward case of suicide.

Ravi was found hanging in his apartment yesterday. His wife who had tried to contact him frantically yesterday had reached home in the evening to find the officer dead.

We demand answers the people say

The people of Kolar say that the police needs to conduct a fair probe into the matter. Ravi never cared for his life and he knew very well what he was getting into when he took on the sand mafia. No officer in Kolar had dared to take on the mighty sand mafia and he had set an example by doing so, the residents of Kolar tell OneIndia.

The 2009 batch IAS officer was a Deputy Commissioner in Kolar. When he took over he struck the right chord with the people who were fed up of the sand mafia. During his early interactions with the people he assured them that he would do his best.

We have been complaining about the mafia to several officials and each one of them had assured us of looking into it. When Ravi told us the same, we felt that it was just another promise. However he proved himself and took the mafia head on. We are aware that he was threatened, but he could not care less for all that the grief ridden residents informed.

His transfer led to large scale protests

When he was transferred out of Kolar the reactions were extreme. Many residents did not eat that day saying that they had lost a good officer. The people did their best to ensure that he never left Kolar. They sat in protest, staged dharnas and pressurized the government to reconsider the decision.

The people even smelt a motive behind the transfer. It was all politically motivated and it was the sand mafia that got him transferred out of Kolar so that they could go about their business is what the people had alleged.

The people say that Ravi had literally stopped the mafia from operating. Once he left they were also back, the people said. It was an extremely unfair decision on part of the government.

A controversial stint in the commercial taxes department

The stint in the commercial taxes department too was eventful. He was transferred to the commercial taxes department as additional commissioner in the month of October 2014 and he decided to take all those who had evaded taxes.

His targets were several high profile people and realty firms. In a recent raid in the month of February there was a controversial order he had issued directing a firm to cough up Rs 10 crore which they had avoided. Ravi had found that the firm had not paid Rs 10 crore towards Value Added Tax.

In one of the interactions Ravi had said that several crores of rupees was being lost as firms blatantly avoided payment of VAT. There is a need to streamline the entire system and we are working on it he had also pointed out.

Sharp reactions as opposition demands probe

The opposition BJP in Karnataka has said that there is a need for an impartial probe. He had taken on firms that belonged directly and indirectly to some ministers and this should not be a factor to cover up the probe. He was a people's man and they need the answers, the BJP says.

G V L Narasimha Rao, BJP spokesperson informed OneIndia that the incident was shocking. Several questions are being raised considering he had undertaken a drive against the builder mafia.

The police have not been able to say anything as of now regarding his death, but we expect the state government to come out with the facts relating to the death of the officer.

Several incidents of honest officers being killed in the past have been reported and we hope that the facts are put out before the people, Rao also added.