The tahsildar of T Narasipur, Mysuru district, 58-year-old B Shankaraiah was found hanging at the Kabini Guest House on Wednesday morning.
The police are suspecting a case of suicide and are trying to ascertain the cause of the death.
The police were alerted after the officer failed to answer phone calls by some officials on Wednesday. When the police forcefully entered his room, they found him hanging from the ceiling fan.
After the news broke out, BJP workers in the taluk staged a protest demanding a CBI probe into the death. They claimed that Shankaraiah was an "upright" officer, suggesting that he'd been victimised by the mining mafia which was trying to protect its interests in illegal sand mining along the Cauvery.
The KAS officer is survived by his wife and three children— one daughter and two sons.
Shankaraiah was reportedly suffering from heart ailments and depression.
In his suicide note, he had said that heavy work pressure and a failed transfer request led him to this decision. He even asked forgiveness from his wife and urged his brother to go ahead with his daughter’s wedding which is scheduled to be held in September.
"His death note indicated he was unhappy as his efforts to get a transfer were in vain," the additional SP said.
The post-mortem was carried out at the Mysuru Medical College and the incident was videotaped.
A native of Mandya, Shankaraiah was posted as the tahsildar of Pandavapura, Mandya, until recently when got transferred to T Narasipur. He was in the habit of residing at the Kabini Guest House if he was unable to return to his family residence at Cauvery Nagar in Mandya.