Body of Karnataka cadre IAS officer Anurag Tiwari was found on roadside in Lucknow
Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Anurag Tiwari's family was preparing for a puja to mark his birthday today when a phone call at 8 am abruptly ended the festivities. The 36-year-old officer's body was found on the roadside in Lucknow, in what the police are treating as a "suspicious death".
Mr Tiwari, a Karnataka cadre officer, joined the civil services in 2007.
His body was found near the Meera Bai guest house in the city's Hazratganj area, where he had reportedly been staying for the past two days. The police said some people called to report a body lying by the road. The officer was identified by his I-card.
The police say there was an injury to his chin but no other mark was visible.
His family in Bahraich, about 130 km from the state capital, is stunned. The officer had just gone through a divorce and was reportedly depressed about it.
Mr Tiwari joined the Food and Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs Department in Bengaluru as Commissioner in January. He went to Punjab as an Election Observer for the state polls.
Reports say he returned to Bengaluru and worked for a month before he was sent to Mussoorie in Uttarakhand for a month's training. After that he applied for leave, which was reportedly not sanctioned.
An engineer, Mr Tiwari reportedly made a mark when he was posted in Bidar in Karnataka last year and had to tackle a water crisis in the region.
"I learnt from television that he had died. I had spoken to him just 15 days ago," said one of his cousins.