SIT to investigate IAS officer Anurag Tewari’s death

SIT was constituted on Thursday to investigate into the death of Karnataka-cadre IAS officer Anurag Tewari

A five-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) was constituted on Thursday to investigate into the death of Karnataka-cadre IAS officer Anurag Tewari, whose body was found on a road near a State guest house in Lucknow under mysterious conditions.

The team headed by Circle Officer of Hazratganj has been asked to submit its findings within three days, said Senior Superintendent of Police Deepak Kumar. The order for a probe came amid allegations by Tewari's family that he may have been murdered since he was about to expose a Rs 2000 Crore scam in the department of food, civil supplies and consumer affairs in Karnataka. They claimed that he faced a threat to his life from few influential people because of his honest approach.

The officer's family told the police that he was not being allowed to leave Karnataka by his seniors despite his requests and applications. The police said they had not received an application from the family for registration of a case.

The police on Wednesday said that prima facie it did not appear like murder but death due to "traumatic injury."

Samples of the body have been sent to Forensic Science Laboratory for examination. "Viscera and blood have been preserved for chemical analysis and heart for histopathologic examination," read the post mortem report.

Reacting to the family's allegations, Food and Civil Supplies Minister U T Khader on Thursday, said that the officer had not brought any scam in the department to his knowledge.