Doddakoppalu Kariyappa Ravikumar (or more commonly DK Ravi, 10 June 1979 – 16 March 2015) was an Indian civil servant and a career Indian Administrative Services (IAS) officer. Ravikumar, As a 2009 Karnataka cadre IAS officer served as the Additional Commissioner of Commercial Taxes (Enforcement) under the Government of Karnataka prior to his mysterious death at his residence in Bangalore on 16 March 2015.[1]
D. K. Ravikumar | |
|---|---|
| Additional Commissioner of Commercial Taxes, Government of Karnataka | |
| In office 29 October 2014 – 16 March 2015 | |
| Deputy commissioner of Kolar | |
| In office 10 August 2013 – 29 October 2014 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Doddakoppalu Kariyappa Ravikumar 10 June 1979 Tumkur, Karnataka, India |
| Died | 16 March 2015 (aged 35) Bangalore, India |
| Spouse | Kusuma |
| Alma mater | Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi |
| Occupation | Civil servant |
Early life
Ravikumar was born on 10 June 1979 into an agricultural family of Kariyappa and Gowramma in Tumkur district, Karnataka. He had two siblings; brother Ramesh and sister Bharathi.[2] He received his bachelor's of science degree in agriculture from University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore and pursued his post-graduation course in zoology from Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi.[3][4]
Career
Ravi had cleared the Civil Services Examination, 2008 (result declared in May 2009) with securing 34th rank in all india merit list.[5]
Later he took his training at Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, Mussoorie as a trainee IAS officer for two years during August 2009 to August 2011.[4]
As Assistant commissioner in Gulbarga
Ravikumar's first posting as a civil servant was as the Assistant commissioner in Gulbarga from August 2011 to December 2012, following which he served as the District collector of Kolar district, Karnataka from August 2013 to October 2014. During this tenure, he was known for his work in ridding encroachments and exposing sand mafia in the district.[6]
Deputy commissioner of Kolar district
Ravi had held the post of Deputy commissioner of Kolar district during August 2013 till his transfer in October 2014, allegedly under pressure from some local elected representatives. He had taken many bold steps to protect government land, including tanks, the main water source in the region, the checks on quality of building materials of public property like roads, during his tenure at Kolar. Large number of people staged dharnas in Kolar to protest, following his transfer orders as deputy commissioner.[7][8]
As Additional Commissioner of Commercial Taxes (Enforcement)
Ravikumar was posted as the Additional Commissioner of Commercial Taxes (Enforcement) by the government on 29 October 2014 in Bangalore. Following this, he prepared a list of top-50 tax defaulters and set a target of ₹1,000 crore (US$120 million) tax collection from the defaulters. He began raids in Bangalore and expanded to places across Karnataka raiding business groups such as Embassy, Rajesh Exports, Shubh Jewellers, RMZ Institution, Prestige Group, Raheja Developers and Mantri Developers, and had reportedly collected over ₹138 crore (US$16 million) in the first two weeks.[9] Following this, he allegedly received threat calls from the defaulters.[10][11]
Death
On 16 March 2015, Ravikumar was found hanging at his residence in Tavarekere locality of Bangalore. He had gone to office from Nagarbhavi, Bangalore, on 16 March 2015, the house of his in-laws and returned to his residential apartment in Bangalore's Tavarekere locality at 11:30 a.m. His family found him hanging by the ceiling fan in his bedroom of their apartment at 6:30 p.m., when they rushed home after he would not return phone calls made during the day.[3] Following the news reaching the Bangalore police, Police commissioner M. N. Reddi said that forensic and medical evidence hinted the death was prima facie a case of suicide.[12] Autopsy on his body was conducted on the morning of 17 March at Victoria Hospital in Bangalore, following which it was shifted to his in-laws house in Nagarbhavi.[13]
Aftermath
Ravikumar's death met with protests from people who took to streets across parts of Karnataka such as Gulbarga, where he served as an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) from August 2011 to January 2013,[3] and Kolar district. Crowds in Bangalore gathered in protest demanding an independent probe into the case and outside his residence to pay tributes to him.[14]
References
- ^ "IAS Officer, Who Took On The Sand Mafia, Found Dead in Bengaluru". NDTV. 16 March 2015. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Bhuvaneshwari, S. (17 March 2015). "'He would not have committed suicide'". The Hindu. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ a b c "IAS officer DK Ravi found dead in Bengaluru, police suspect suicide". Economic Times. 17 March 2015. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ a b persmin. "'Executive Record Sheet Generator (IAS Officers)'". persmin.nic.in. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
- ^ "CIVIL SERVICES (MAIN) EXAMINATION Result, 2008" (PDF). upsc.gov.in. 5 May 2009. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
- ^ Dev, Arun (16 March 2015). "IAS officer DK Ravi who 'exposed tax frauds' found dead in Bengaluru". The Times of India. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Staff Correspondent (21 October 2014). "'Kolar residents protest move to transfer DC'". The Hindu. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
{{cite web}}:|author=has generic name (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Staff Correspondent (31 January 2014). "'Deputy Commissioner inspects roads, takes officers, contractors to task'". The Hindu. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
{{cite web}}:|author=has generic name (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Satish, D. P. (17 March 2015). "DK Ravi: An IAS officer who paid with his life to end corruption". IBNLive. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "IAS officer DK Ravi, who took on sand mafia, found dead at his Bengaluru house". Deccan Chronicle. 16 March 2015. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Mondal, Sudipto (17 March 2015). "IAS officer who took on sand mafia found dead in Bengaluru residence". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "'IAS officer DK Ravi's death prima facie a suicide case': Reddi". Business Standard. 17 March 2015. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Bharadwaj, Aditya K. V. (17 March 2015). "D.K. Ravi's body reaches home after autopsy". The Hindu. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Bandh, massive protest in Karnataka after IAS officer D K Ravi who 'exposed tax frauds' found dead". The Times of India. 17 March 2015. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
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