Karnataka IAS officer found dead in Uttar Pradesh

Lucknow: An IAS officer of the Karnataka cadre was found dead under mysterious circumstances in Lucknow, which also happened to be his birthday.

The body of the 35-year-old officer, Anurag Tiwari, was found in Hazratganj near a guesthouse. There were injury marks on his chin after which, the police suspect, he might have collapsed. Tiwari was posted as the commissioner of the food civil supplies and consumer affairs department in Bengaluru.

IG, Lucknow range, J.N. Singh, said the primary examination suggested that Tiwari died of a heart attack. He said a team of forensic experts from the state forensic science laboratory will examine the body to ascertain the exact cause of his death.

Meanwhile, deceased’s father B.N. Tiwari and his brother Alok told reporters that they suspect foul play in the death as he had exposed corruption in Karnataka. Some of his batchmates said Tiwari was under depression after he separated from his wife a few months ago.

The deceased officer was staying at Meera Bai guest house in Hazratganj for the last two days with his batch mate Prabhu Narain Singh.

The two officers came to Lucknow after attending a mid-career training programme at Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration in Mussoorie.

The IG said Tiwari was found lying dead 10metre from the guest house entrance in his sleepwear. He said the Singh and Tiwari had dinner together on Tuesday. Tiwari went for a walk at around 6 a.m while Singh went to play badminton at the BBD Badminton Academy in Gomti Nagar. He said the UP100, an emergency response centre, received a call at around 6.40 am about a dead body lying outside the guest house. Tiwari was identified from an ID card recovered from his belongings.

Officials claimed that a cardiac arrest may have led to his death. Detailed autopsy reports are, however, awaited.