A 2007 batch Karnataka cadre IAS officer was found dead on Wednesday morning outside a State guest house in Lucknow.
Anurag Tewari's body was found by the road near the Meera Bai guest house in the heart of the city. Wednesday was Mr. Tewari’s 36th birthday.
A native of the Bahraich district of Uttar Pradesh, Mr. Tewari was posted as the Commissioner, Food Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Department, Bengaluru. He was in Lucknow for a few days as part of phase 3 training for IAS officers.
According to the post-mortem report, Tewari died of asphyxia, a police statement said. The visera and blood has been preserved for chemical analysis and heart for histopathologic examination to know the exact cause.
Earlier, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP)-Lucknow, Deepak Kumar had said it was difficult to pinpoint the exact cause of death. Prima facie, it did not appear like murder but death “due to a traumatic injury”, he had said, before the body was sent for post-mortem.
“The reason given by the doctors is that it is a traumatic injury, which could be due to a heart attack or a sudden convulsion. He has no injuries on any part of the body apart from the chin. It could mean two things: an accident or traumatic injuries,” Mr. Kumar said.
Mr. Tewari’s body was spotted on the road by a local, who dialled the emergency 100 police services. The officer, who was not carrying his mobile phone with him, was identified by the identity card in his wallet.
Mr. Tewari was out for a morning walk and had barely walked a few metres when he is believed to have collapsed. He had been staying at the Meera Bai guest house for the last two days with Prabhu Narain Singh, vice-chairperson of Lucknow Development Authority, his batch mate.
‘Untimely demise’
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah expressed his shock at the “unfortunate demise” of the officer. He also deputed a senior officer to Lucknow to monitor the situation. “In constant touch with UP Govt,” tweeted the handle of the Karnataka CM. The IAS Association also said it was, “shocked at the sad and untimely demise of our colleague Anurag Tiwari, IAS 2007 KN in Lucknow”.
An electrical engineer from Lucknow University, Mr. Tewari had also been posted as Deputy Commissioner of Bidar district earlier.
