Lucknow: A Karnataka-cadre IAS officer was found dead this morning under mysterious circumstances on a roadside in the high-security Hazratganj area here, hardly a kilometre away from the Uttar Pradesh Assembly which is in session now.
In a quirk of fate, the body of Anurag Tiwari, 36, posted as commissioner in the department of food, civil supplies and consumer affairs in Bengaluru, was found on his birthday, near a government guest house on Meera Bai Marg where he was staying.
Senior superintendent of police Deepak Kumar late tonight said, "the post mortem was carried out by a panel of four doctors. The cause of the death was asphyxia. Hence, viscera and blood samples have been preserved for clinical analysis and the heart for histopathological examination.
The samples have been sent to a forensic laboratory for special test to find the exact cause of the death.
His father, however, alleged that his son was murdered.
"My son was very honest. Corrupt officers did not like him. They must have somehow got him murdered," Anurag's father B.N. Tiwari said in Bahraich, his native place.
"He was the youngest of my three sons and had got selected in the IAS in the first attempt. A year after his selection, he got married. But, his relations with his wife were strained and this year he got himself legally separated from her," he said.
Tiwari, a 2007 batch IAS officer, was staying at the Meera Bai Guest House in the busy area for the last two days with a batchmate after attending a mid-career training program at Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration in Mussoorie.
He was in his sleepwear when he was found dead.
Police said there was an injury on his chin and did not rule out that he may have been hit by a vehicle during his morning walk.
Tiwari was born on May 17, 1981, and became an IAS officer in July 2007. He was an engineer by qualification.
The incident sent shock waves in the Uttar Pradesh capital.
The matter was raised in the UP Assembly, now in session, by Leader of the Opposition Ram Govind Chaudhary.
He said that it was a serious matter that the body of an IAS officer was found in the heart of the capital.
The Guest House is hardly a kilometre away from the high security assembly complex.
Giving details, inspector of Hazratganj police station A.K. Shahi said some passers-by informed the police after spotting him lying on the road.
His identity was established on the basis of his ID card found in his wallet which contained some cash too, he said.
The inspector said a preliminary examination confirmed an injury on his chin and no other injury was visible.
Inspector general of police, Lucknow range, J.N. Singh said Tiwari might have suffered a heart attack.
He said a team of forensic experts from Lucknow's State Forensic Science Laboratory will examine the officer's body and the exact cause of death could be ascertained only after autopsy.
Meanwhile, after the post-mortem examination, his family members took away the body to Bahriach for cremation.
