IAS Anurag Tiwari death: BJP MP writes to Yogi Adityanath demanding CBI probe

A Bhartiya Janata Party Minister from Karnataka has written a letter to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, demanding a probe in the death of IAS officer Anurag Tiwari.

"In my previous letter dated 17th May, I had requested you to ensure a thorough probe as the tragedy looks murky. Now I am getting information from credible sources that Shri Tiwari could be a victim of the foodgrain smuggling mafia. This is what middle level officials in Karnataka are discussing among themselves," Karnataka MP Shobha Karandlaje wrote in a letter to Adityanath.

Tiwari was found dead on Wednesday, under mysterious circumstances, in the high-security Hazratganj area in Lucknow, hardly a kilometre away from the Uttar Pradesh Assembly. The IAS officer had come to Lucknow after attending a mid-career training programme at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration in Mussorie on the day he was found dead. He was found lying a few metres away from the entrance of his guest house in his night clothes.

According to Lucknow Range Inspector General of Police JN Singh, prima facie it appears Tiwari died due to a heart attack. Investigations have also revealed that some of Tiwari's batchmates said that he was under depression after he separated from his wife a few months ago.

But the Opposition BJP believes it needs to "expose the real story"



behind IAS Anurag Tiwari's death with the help of the CM of another BJP-ruled state.

"Let me explain. A multi-crore scam was unearthed in the department of Food and Civil Supplies sometime ago. This was being investigated by Mr Anurag Tiwari in his capacity as the Commissioner of the said department. It is being said that he had prepared a detailed dossier about the scandal. This is one important angle that needs to be probed. In fact, Shri Anurag Tiwari's brothers have also expressed fear of 'powerful forces and unseen hands' behind the death of the IAS officer," Karandlaje wrote to Adityanath.

The BJP in Karnataka has said that the entire episode involves both Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka, and investigation in the matter warrants a CBI intervention.

Meanwhile, Karnataka Food and Civil Supplies Minister UT Khader, under whose department Tiwari was working, said not only will they cooperate with the investigation but they will also look into the Opposition's allegations of a food supplies mafia operating in the state.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah also assigned two IAS officers Abhiram Shankar and Pankaj Kumar Pandey to acquire more details on Tiwari's death. The two are expected to brief the CMO shortly.

"Let any inquiry happen - we will give our full support as a government to the investigating agency," said Siddaramaiah.