MANDYA, 11 MAY

Former Director General of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and Padma Shri awardee Subbanna Ayyappan was found dead in the Cauvery river near Srirangapatna, police said on Sunday.

People found the body of Ayyappan, 70, floating on the river near Saibaba Ashram in Srirangapatna on Saturday evening and Srirangapatna Police retrieved it. Sources said the body was partially decomposed. 

Police said Ayyappan’s scooter was found on the river bank near Saibaba Ashram, and it is suspected that he might have jumped into the river. However, only the investigation can determine the cause of death, they said.

Police handed over Ayyappan’s body to the family members on Sunday, after a conducting the post-mortem examination at KR Hospital in Mysuru. The family said Ayyappan’s last rites will be performed on Monday. 

Ayyappan, who is credited for playing a role in India's 'Blue Revolution', is survived by his wife and two daughters.

Ayyappan, who was staying along with his wife in an apartment on Akka Mahadevi Road in JP Nagar, was missing since 7 May. His family members had filed a missing complaint at Vidyaranyapura Police station, saying that he did not return home after leaving for meditation. 

Ayyappan often visited Ramakrishana Ashrama in Mysuru and Sai Baba Ashram in Srirangapatna for mediation, they said. 

A former member of the ICAR on Sunday demanded a court-monitored CBI investigation into the death of Ayyappan.

Venugopal Badaravada, previously on ICAR's governing body, said, "The conditions surrounding his untimely death are deeply troubling. His scooter was found abandoned, and the cause of death remains unclear. These circumstances demand a court-monitored CBI investigation".

Ayyappan served in various capacities including as director general of the ICAR, a secretary in the Department of Agriculture Research and Education and chairman of National Agriculture Science Academy.