Bengaluru: For farmers of Kolar, who often settled disputes over the boundary of their farmlands either in court or through blood-spattered clashes, IAS officer D.K. Ravi was the messiah who solved this problem at their doorstep. His novel ‘revenue adalat’ approach of resolving a dispute was such a success that it benefited thousands of farmers during his 14-month stint as deputy commissioner of Kolar. The state government was so impressed that Revenue Minister V. Srinivas Prasad took a decision to replicate it across the state.

Mr Ravi’s popularity among farmers could be gauged by huge protests they took out to protest against his early transfer to Bengaluru, a move attributed to some top politicians of Kolar district. The fact that Gopal, a 42 year-old farmer who benefited from ‘revenue adalat’ held by Mr Ravi, committed suicide in his house in Tirumanahalli, Mulbagal taluk of Kolar district, after he heard of the IAS officer’s death, mirrors the veneration of farmers of this parched district.

Besides farmers, he had scores of admirers among wannabe civil servants, because every Sunday he would turn up at an auditorium in Kolar not only to coach them for civil service exams but also to boost their self-confidence. “He came from an agricultural family living in a village near Kunigal, and felt that students from rural areas lacked self-confidence to take up civil services exams. Therefore he took upon himself the responsibility of coaching them. Many students continued to be in touch with him even after his transfer to Bengaluru,” said a senior bureaucrat.

Another bureaucrat said though Mr Ravi secured more than 90% in pre-university exams, he could not join a medical college because his parents could not afford it. He joined the University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS) in Bengaluru, passed his post-graduation, and joined the excise department. His determination to pass the UPSC exams was such that he took a major risk of quitting the department when he was denied leave before the exams. His resolve paid off.

A daring officer with a penchant to go after the high-and-mighty, Mr Ravi did not yield to pressure from top politicians while recovering encroached land of the government and many lakes in Kolar district. A senior bureaucrat said he shifted an election official as soon as he heard that the officer moved an electronic voting machine (EVM) at the behest of Congress candidate and former Union minister V. Muniyappa during the Lok Sabha polls last year. Mr Muniyappa, who came to vote at the Harohalli polling station, was unhappy as it was not “Vaastu compliant” and therefore asked the officer to change the direction of EVM.