Bangalore:
Five days after he was allegedly attacked, a Karnataka Administrative Service (KAS) officer, who was also reportedly a whistle-blower in a controversial land allotment case, died at a private hospital today. SP Mahantesh, 48, died following a cardiac arrest, hospital sources said.
"Mahantesh's heart stopped at 5.30 am. We tried our best to revive him, but failed," a doctor, who refused to be named, said.
Mr Mahantesh, who suffered head injuries in the alleged attack by unidentified people on May 15, had been on life support since the last two days.
He was found unconscious near a hotel and shifted to the hospital. The official was working as Deputy Director of the Audit wing in the state's Cooperative department and had reported irregularities in different societies involving officials and politicians.
The police have formed a special team to track down Mr Mahantesh's attackers, but have reportedly made no progress in the case so far.
"He unfortunately died because of the injuries. Our teams are following all the clues; whether it's professional or personal. (We are) looking into all angles. We're sure we'll arrest the assailants. The attempt to murder case has been converted to a murder case. On the day (of the attack) it was raining. Therefore, the CCTV footage is very blurry; (there is) no CCTV is near the spot where the assault took place," said Ravi Kanthe Gowda, Deputy Commissioner of Police .
Earlier this month, another state government official was killed in an assault. Assistant Conservator of Forest, Madan Naik was assaulted by a group of tourists at Dandeli in Uttara Kannada district on May 6 after he objected to them feeding crocodiles at a private resort. The government has ordered a CID probe into his death and the police have arrested six people in the case.
"Mahantesh's heart stopped at 5.30 am. We tried our best to revive him, but failed," a doctor, who refused to be named, said.
Mr Mahantesh, who suffered head injuries in the alleged attack by unidentified people on May 15, had been on life support since the last two days.
He was found unconscious near a hotel and shifted to the hospital. The official was working as Deputy Director of the Audit wing in the state's Cooperative department and had reported irregularities in different societies involving officials and politicians.
The police have formed a special team to track down Mr Mahantesh's attackers, but have reportedly made no progress in the case so far.
"He unfortunately died because of the injuries. Our teams are following all the clues; whether it's professional or personal. (We are) looking into all angles. We're sure we'll arrest the assailants. The attempt to murder case has been converted to a murder case. On the day (of the attack) it was raining. Therefore, the CCTV footage is very blurry; (there is) no CCTV is near the spot where the assault took place," said Ravi Kanthe Gowda, Deputy Commissioner of Police .
Earlier this month, another state government official was killed in an assault. Assistant Conservator of Forest, Madan Naik was assaulted by a group of tourists at Dandeli in Uttara Kannada district on May 6 after he objected to them feeding crocodiles at a private resort. The government has ordered a CID probe into his death and the police have arrested six people in the case.
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