KORAPUT: Acting on a court directive, police have registered a case of murder against Malkangiri district collector Manish Agarwal for the death of his former personal assistant Deb Narayan Panda.
Besides Agarwal, two staffers of the collectorate and a retired employee were also booked. They were identified as V Venu (data-entry operator), Prakash Swain (stenographer) and Bhagawan Panigrahi (former Odisha Revenue Service officer), police said on Sunday.
The case was registered on the basis of a directive by the court of the sub-divisional judicial magistrate (SDJM), Malkangiri.
Panda’s body was found near Satiguda dam, on the outskirts of Malkangiri town, on December 28, 2019.
Banaja Panda, wife of the deceased, had approached the court of the SDJM on November 2 with the claim that her husband had been murdered by the accused persons as he had turned down the collector’s offer to collect bribes on his behalf.
In her FIR she had claimed that “attempts were made to drive out Panda from the post through the serving of a showcause notice on him” and that Venu was entrusted the job of taking care of the ‘funds’ collection drive.
“A special investigation team (SIT) has been formed to inquire into the matter,” said Ram Prasad Nag, inspector in charge of Malkangiri police station.
The officer said the accused had been booked under Sections 302 (punishment for murder), 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation), 201 (causing disappear of evidence of offence), 204 (destruction of document to prevent its production as evidence), 120 (B) (punishment of criminal conspiracy) and 34 (34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the IPC.
“We are hopeful of getting justice,” said Bibek Panda, son of the deceased. The district collector could not be reached for his comment on the case in spite of repeated attempts by
TOI
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