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Doddakoppalu Kariyappa Ravi (10 June 1979 – 16 March 2015) was an
Indian Administrative Service The Indian Administrative Service (IAS) is the administrative arm of the All India Services of Government of India. Considered the premier civil service of India, the IAS is one of the three arms of the All India Services along with the India ...
officer of Karnataka cadre, from the 2008 batch. He first came into limelight as a deputy commissioner of the Kolar district, after launching an official crackdown against the encroachment of government lands and rampant
illegal sand mining Sand theft or unauthorised or illegal sand mining leads to a widely unknown global example of natural and non-renewable resource depletion problem comparable in extent to global water scarcity. Beach theft is illegal removal of large quantities ...
in the district. Following fourteen months of service, he was transferred to
Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...
by the
government of Karnataka The Government of Karnataka, abbreviated as, GoK, or simply Karnataka Government, is a democratically-elected state body with the governor as the ceremonial head to govern the Southwest Indian state of Karnataka. The governor who is appoint ...
as Additional Commissioner of Commercial Taxes (Enforcement) in October 2014. After his five months' tenure as additional commissioner which involved tax raids on major tax-evading
real estate Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more genera ...
firms, he was found dead at his residence in Bangalore on 16 March 2015, under suspicious circumstances.


Early life and education

Ravi was born on 10 June 1979 in the Kunigal taluk, Tumkur district of the Indian state of Karnataka, into an agricultural family of Kariyappa and Gowramma. He had two siblings: brother Ramesh and sister Bharathi. He graduated from
University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore (UAS Bangalore) is located in Bengaluru, India. It was established in 1964 as UAS Bangalore by a legislative act. History Origin The British government in India, shaken by several famines in India ...
with an undergraduate degree in agriculture and went to pursue his post-graduation course in
nematology Nematology is the scientific discipline concerned with the study of nematodes, or roundworms. Although nematological investigation dates back to the days of Aristotle or even earlier, nematology as an independent discipline has its recognizable ...
from
Indian Agricultural Research Institute The Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), commonly known as the Pusa Institute, is India's national institute for agricultural research, education and extension. The name Pusa Institute is derived from the fact that the institute was o ...
, New Delhi. Prior to his entry into civil service, he worked as Sub Inspector of Excise with the Karnataka state Excise Department for over a year and a half. He cleared the 2008 UPSC
Civil Services Examination The Civil Services Examination (CSE) is a national competitive examination in India conducted by the Union Public Service Commission for recruitment to higher Civil Services of the Government of India, including the Indian Administrative Se ...
with an all-India rank of 34. Opting for
Indian Administrative Service The Indian Administrative Service (IAS) is the administrative arm of the All India Services of Government of India. Considered the premier civil service of India, the IAS is one of the three arms of the All India Services along with the India ...
, he was trained at
Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) is a civil service training institute on public policy and public administration in India. The academy's main purpose is to train civil servants of the IAS cadre and also cond ...
, Mussoorie, for a probation period of two years between August 2009 to August 2011 and was allotted his home state cadre of Karnataka.


Career


As assistant commissioner in Gulbarga

Ravi's first posting as a civil servant was as the assistant commissioner in
Gulbarga Kalaburagi, formerly known as Gulbarga, is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Kalaburagi district and is the largest city in the region of North Karnataka ( Kalyana-Karnataka). Kalaburagi is ...
from August 2011 to December 2012, following which he served as the deputy commissioner 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.


As deputy commissioner of Kolar district

During his stint as a Deputy commissioner of the Kolar district from August, 2013 to October, 2014, Ravi became almost a public figure due to his functioning as a pro people administrator, and launching of innovative reforms like conducting of Revenue and
Podi Podi may refer to: * PODi, a digital printing industry organization * Podi, Bar, a village in Montenegro * Podi, Herceg Novi, a village in Montenegro * Podi, Croatia, a village near Trilj Trilj (, it, Treglia, la, Pons Tiluri) is a munici ...
adalat s, which went on to being getting recognised and implemented in other districts by the state government. He also had taken many bold steps to protect encroachment on government lands, including tanks, the main water source in the region and had ensured the checks on quality of building materials of public property like roads, during his tenure at Kolar. Subsequently, he was transferred out of this position in October, 2014, allegedly due to pressure from vested interests involved in land grabbing and illegal sand mining. His popularity among people of Kolar was evidenced when large number of people staged protests, following his transfer orders as deputy commissioner.


As Additional Commissioner of Commercial Taxes (Enforcement)

Ravi was posted as the Additional Commissioner of Commercial Taxes (Enforcement) by the government on 29 October 2014 in
Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...
. Following this, he prepared a list of top-50 tax defaulters and set a target of tax collection from the tax evading defaulters. He began raids in Bangalore and expanded to places across Karnataka raiding well-known business groups such as Embassy which include shares of state home minister, Rajesh Exports, Shubh Jewellers, RMZ Institution, Nitesh Builders, Prestige Group, Raheja Developers and Mantri Developers, and had reportedly collected over in the first two weeks. Following this, he allegedly received threat calls from the defaulters.


Death

On 16 March 2015, Ravi was found hanging at his residence in
Koramangala Koramangala () is situated in the south-eastern part of Bengaluru, it is one of the largest neighborhoods, and is a residential locality with wide, tree-lined boulevards and a mix of commercial structures, and bungalows. Planned as a suburb pos ...
, Bangalore. He had gone to office from
Nagarbhavi Nagarabhavi (also referred to as Nagarbhavi)is a residential area of Bangalore, Karnataka, India. Located in West Bangalore, Nagarabhavi is located between Mysore Road and Magadi road. It is surrounded by Vijaynagar on the north, Bangalore Uni ...
, Bangalore (the house of his in-laws), on Monday morning. He returned to his apartment at St John's Woods near Koramangala by 11.30 a.m. (
IST Ist or IST may refer to: Information Science and Technology * Bachelor's or Master's degree in Information Science and Technology * Graduate School / Faculty of Information Science and Technology, Hokkaido University, Japan * Graduate School ...
). His family found him hanging by the ceiling fan in his bedroom of their apartment at 6:30 p.m. (IST), when they rushed home after he didn't answer the phone calls and no return phone calls made during the day. 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. An
autopsy An autopsy (post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death or to evaluate any dis ...
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. His last rites were performed on 18 March in Bangalore. The eleventh-day ritual, in accordance to customs of Hinduism, was held in his hometown Doddakoppalu, with his nephew performing the rituals.


Aftermath

Ravi's death infuriated people and the civil society alike who took to the streets on March 17 across parts of Karnataka such as
Kolar Kolar or Kolara is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of Kolar district. The city is known for its milk production and gold mines. It is also known for Someshwara temple and Kolaramma temple. History The Weste ...
and
Gulbarga Kalaburagi, formerly known as Gulbarga, is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Kalaburagi district and is the largest city in the region of North Karnataka ( Kalyana-Karnataka). Kalaburagi is ...
, where he served as an Assistant Commissioner. Towns in Kolar district observed total
bandh Bandh (Devanagari: बंद) (literally: shutting down) is a form of protest used by political activists in South Asian countries such as India and Nepal. It is similar to a general strike. During a bandh, a political party or a community decl ...
with shops, commercial establishments, schools and colleges staying closed during the day, with state-run and private buses, auto rickshaws and other vehicles not operating. The protest was joined by lawyers, students and workers of various political parties and organizations. Crowds in Bangalore gathered in protest demanding an independent probe into the case and outside his residence to pay tributes to him. This was also followed by outpouring of anger and grief by people in various social media platforms like Facebook, Quora and Twitter. On March 17, opposition parties in Karnataka Legislative Assembly demanded from the government an investigation by the
Central Bureau of Investigation The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is the premier investigating agency of India. It operates under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions. Originally set up to investigate bribery and governmen ...
(CBI), but were refused. They went on to protest the government by launching in assembly, the overnight sit in. The government, however, announced a Crime Investigation Department (CID) investigation the same day. But some critics and members of the public opposed to the investigation by the CID, a police agency under the control of state government, which might risk the investigation's impartiality, efficiency and thoroughness. During initial investigations, the police made references to 44 phone calls made by Ravi to a female Indian Administrative Services batchmate, within an hour, on 16 March, the day he died. However, subsequent CBI Investigation denied this, while revealing that he had called her only once, not 44 times. The
Karnataka High Court Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnata ...
restrained the government from publishing any interim report of the CID. Yielding to pressure from protests carried out by people across Karnataka and parts of India, and by the opposition parties in the assembly, the state government agreed to hand over the case to the CBI on 23 March 2015. In April 2015, the union government ordered a CBI probe after the Karnataka government sent a fresh notification without any time limit for the probe. In its report submitted to the Assistant Commissioner, Bengaluru South Sub-Division and Sub-Divisional Magistrate in November 2016, the CBI concluded that Ravi committed "suicide due to personal reasons". On 26 November, it was communicated to the government by the Magistrate to close the case under section 176 of
Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 In communications and information processing, code is a system of rules to convert information—such as a letter, word, sound, image, or gesture—into another form, sometimes shortened or secret, for communication through a communication ...
.


In popular culture

The 2019 film ''Chambal'' was Closely based on the life of D. K. Ravi. 2021 Telugu movie ''Republic'' was inspired by him.


See also

* Land grabbing * Sand mining in India


References


External links


Biodata of D. K. Ravikumar
{{DEFAULTSORT:RAVI, DK 1979 births 2015 deaths Indian Administrative Service officers Illegal mining in India Suicides by hanging in India 2015 suicides