After his five months' tenure as additional commissioner which involved tax raids on major tax-evading real estate firms, he was found dead at his residence in Bangalore on 16 March 2015, under suspicious circumstances.

[3][4] Ravi was born on 10 June 1979 in the Kunigal taluk, Tumkur district of the Indian state of Karnataka,[5] into an agricultural family of Kariyappa and Gowramma.

He also had taken many bold steps to protect encroachment on government lands, including tanks, the main water source in the region and had ensured the checks on quality of building materials of public property like roads, during his tenure at Kolar.

Subsequently, he was transferred out of this position in October, 2014, allegedly due to pressure from vested interests involved in land grabbing and illegal sand mining.

He began raids in Bangalore and expanded to places across Karnataka raiding well-known business groups such as Embassy which include shares of state home minister, Rajesh Exports, Shubh Jewellers, RMZ Institution, Nitesh Builders, Prestige Group, Raheja Developers and Mantri Developers, and had reportedly collected over ₹138 crore (US$16 million) in the first two weeks.

[18] Ravi's death infuriated people and the civil society alike who took to the streets on March 17 across parts of Karnataka such as Kolar and Gulbarga, where he served as an Assistant Commissioner.

[7] Towns in Kolar district observed total bandh with shops, commercial establishments, schools and colleges staying closed during the day, with state-run and private buses, auto rickshaws and other vehicles not operating.

[29] Yielding to pressure from protests carried out by people across Karnataka and parts of India, and by the opposition parties in the assembly, the state government agreed to hand over the case to the CBI on 23 March 2015.

[31] In its report submitted to the Assistant Commissioner, Bengaluru South Sub-Division and Sub-Divisional Magistrate in November 2016, the CBI concluded that Ravi committed "suicide due to personal reasons".