Ex-IAS officer's murder in Bhopal: Accused caretaker held from Agra, injured during escape bid

Ex-IAS officer's murder in Bhopal: Accused caretaker held from Agra, injured during escape bid

Bhopal, More than a month after the murder of a retired IAS officer in Bhopal, the police have arrested his caretaker from Agra in Uttar Pradesh, officials said on Tuesday.

Ex-IAS officer's murder in Bhopal: Accused caretaker held from Agra, injured during escape bid

While being brought to Bhopal, the accused, Varun Kumar, allegedly tried to escape by snatching a policeman's pistol. A bullet was fired from the accused's hand during the scuffle with the security team and hit him in the leg, they claimed.

He has been admitted to a hospital in Bhopal for treatment, police said.

Former IAS officer Rakesh Agarwal was found dead with his throat slit at his residence in Bhopal's Ratibad area on September 30.

Due to a physical illness, Agarwal had hired Kumar as a caretaker through an agency just three days before the murder.

Kumar had been absconding since the murder. The police conducted raids in various states and examined CCTV footage of various locations in search of him.

Ratibad Police Station in-charge Ras Bihari Sharma confirmed to PTI that the accused has been apprehended.

"The accused was arrested from Agra and was being brought to Bhopal by road," the official said.

Sharma said that on Tuesday morning, near Mughalia Chhaap village, the accused pretended to urinate during the journey. The accused then tried to snatch a police pistol, and in the ensuing scuffle with the security team, a bullet was fired from his hand. It hit him in the leg, after which he was admitted to Hamidia Hospital, the official claimed.

The police will interrogate the accused to uncover the sequence of events surrounding the murder and the motive behind the killing, he added.

Earlier, Bhopal Police Commissioner Sanjay Kumar had formed a Special Investigation Team to investigate the case. A reward of ₹50,000 had also been announced for the arrest of the absconding accused.

Agarwal, a native of Punjab, was a 1982 batch IAS officer of the Madhya Pradesh cadre. He served in various positions, including District Collector, and also as secretary and principal secretary in several departments.

His last posting was as Director General of the RCVP Naronha Academy of Administration and Management in Bhopal.

This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.