London, Jan 13 : Devinder Sivia, an NRI Mathematics lecturer at the University of Oxford, was arrested last night for the death of fellow academic Prof Steve Rawlings, an astrophysicist, in a case that has shocked the academic community in the ancient seat of learning.

The body of Rawlings, 50, was found at the Oxfordshire home of Sivia, 49, in Southmoor late on Wednesday night.

The British police believe that the pair had an argument after returning to Sivia's house following a meal at a local pub. Both Rawlings and Sivia were said to be friends for many years.

A post-mortem examination carried out on Rawlings has proved inconclusive, the police said, adding that Sivia remained in custody.

The Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University, Prof Andrew Hamilton, said: "The entire University community has been profoundly saddened and shocked by the tragic and untimely death of Professor Steve Rawlings. Our thoughts are with his family and friends."

Sivia's website says: "My research interests revolve around the application of Bayesian probability theory to all sorts of data analysis, mainly in the physical sciences, and I have published a tutorial book on the subject."

Rawlings was based at St Peter's College, whose Master, Mark Damazer, said: "He was one of the lead scientists in the international Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project and also played a prominent role in the redevelopment of the Goonhilly Satellite Earth Station in Cornwall as a radio astronomy facility".

Damazer added: "He was a much-liked and admired tutor and colleague within the college and will be greatly missed. We extend our deepest sympathy to his wife Linda."


Detective Superintendent Rob Mason said: "The investigation is still in the early stages and we are endeavouring to establish what has happened in the house and we are keeping an open mind until all our enquiries are concluded".

He added: "We are liaising closely with Oxford University and it is apparent that he was well respected and liked within the college and colleagues and students have been devastated by the news".

A report from Daily Mail adds: Police discovered the 50-year-old professor’s battered body on Wednesday night after they were called about an ‘incident’ at Dr Sivia’s bungalow.

A neighbour is said to have tried to save the dying man’s life by desperately pumping his chest. But  minutes after officers arrived, Dr Sivia – who was dressed all in white – was led away in handcuffs.

Last night police were trying to establish how the men, who were colleagues in the astrophysics department of the university and co-authored an academic text, fell out.

One motive being considered is that they may have argued over ‘academic matters’ at Dr Sivia’s home in Southmoor, near Abingdon.

Last night detectives from the Thames Valley Police’s major crime unit had sealed off the home and launched a murder investigation.



A post mortem proved inconclusive and further examinations will be undertaken in an attempt to find the exact cause of Professor Rawlings’s death.

Detectives are also trying to establish if the two men attended the St John’s College ‘feast’ on the night of the tragedy.

This is a formal dinner which takes place regularly in the main hall of the college, where Dr Sivia is a maths lecturer. All the dons at the college are invited and are allowed to bring a guest.

Professor Rawlings worked at St Peter’s College and the pair are thought to have known each other for at least 15 years.

They co-wrote a book called Foundations of Science Mathematics, which was published in 1999.

The murder bears all the hallmarks of an Inspector Morse mystery.

The character, played by John Thaw in the long-running TV series, investigated murders amongst the Oxford academic community.

The attractive village of Southmoor, where Dr Sivia lives, was home to government scientist and weapons inspector, Dr David Kelly, who was found dead under mysterious circumstances in 2003.

Professor Rawlings lived with his wife Linda in Wantage, Oxfordshire, and the couple celebrated her 50th birthday last week.

Family liaison officers broke the news to Mrs Rawlings, who identified her husband’s body at the mortuary of John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford.

Dr Tony Lynas-Gray, research assistant in Oxford University’s astrophysics department, said Professor Rawlings and Dr Sivia were ‘the best of friends’.

Dr Sivia, who is unmarried. had given data analysis lectures for graduate students in the astrophysics department since 2006 on Professor Rawlings’ recommendation.

Dr Lynas-Gray said: ‘Dr Devinder Sivia was a great friend of Stephen Rawlings. Dr Sivia is a very knowledgeable statistician and very much respected by students with the lectures he gives.

‘Stephen talked about Dr Sivia and said what a great person he was.

‘Stephen Rawlings was a great man and a great astronomer. He was very much liked by his students and colleagues. We’re entirely devastated.’

Last night dozens of tributes to Professor Rawlings were posted on the internet by colleagues and past students.

One said: ‘Can’t believe we’ve just lost such a fantastic and world leading astrophysicist.’

Stanislav Zavjalov wrote on Facebook: ‘No!! Horrible! I still remember his explanation of the divergence theorem using the wildebeest. May he rest in peace.’

One neighbour said he saw  Sivia on Wednesday afternoon at around tea-time, arriving back home from work alone to his two-bedroom detached bungalow.

He said: ‘Apparently it happened late on Wednesday night because the police came and banged on our doors at about 1.30am. There was a lot of noise and commotion – it was a little bit perturbing for something like this to happen in our quiet road.’

Mother-of-one Kelly Ludlow, 30, who lives opposite Dr Sivia, said: ‘There must have been four or five police cars outside the house at one stage.

‘I saw a man wearing a turban being led away from the property. He was cuffed and two policemen were with him.

‘It was very dark and I couldn’t see him clearly, but he was dressed all in white.’ The officer leading the inquiry said he was ‘keeping an open mind’.

Detective Superintendent Rob Mason said: ‘It does appear that no one else was present at the address and we are not currently looking for anyone else in connection with this incident.’

Professor Rawlings had a PhD from Cambridge and a DPhil from Oxford.