Buxar DM told family he would commit suicide, but Delhi cops could not trace him
Mukesh Pandey had sent an SMS to his family informing them of his intention to commit suicide. The family members had informed Delhi police that could not trace Pandey in time.
Buxar district magistrate Mukesh Pandey, who allegedly committed suicide on the rail tracks in Ghaziabad on Thursday, had informed his family of his suicidal intentions three hours before he took the extreme step. His family and batchmates were quick to alert the Delhi Police. But that could not save him from the tragic end.
Two teams of Delhi Police — one from the Sarojini Nagar police station and another from west district — swung into action after being informed about Pandey’s plan. However, they could not track down the official.
Ishwar Singh, deputy commissioner of police (south), said the 29-year-old IAS officer reached Delhi from Patna in an Indigo flight. Around 12:30 pm, Pandey checked in at Hotel Leela Palace and remained in room number 742. Around 4:30 pm, he locked his backpack in the room and left the hotel in an Ola cab, said the police.
Through technical surveillance, the police learnt that Pandey reached District Centre in Janakpuri. The CCTV footage of the District Centre confirmed his presence on the eleventh floor. “From shopkeepers, we learnt that he attempted to reach the top floor but was stopped by security guards and that probably forced him to change his plan,” said a senior official adding Pandey left his mobile phone there and it was picked up by a shopkeeper.
Pandey was seen leaving District Centre at 5.55 pm. CCTV footage shows him board a train from Janakpuri Metro station. While the police were still looking for him in Delhi, Pandey deboarded at Anand Vihar Metro station. “We believe that he reached Ghaziabad in a train. Around 8.30 pm, his body was found on railway tracks in Ghaziabad,” said the official.
According to the DCP, at around 5.30 pm, Pandey had sent a message to his father-in-law, other relatives, and batchmates telling them that he was staying at Leela Palace Hotel and planned to end his life at Janakpuri District Centre.
The IAS officer’s sister-in-law, who lives in Delhi, reached the hotel after her father told her about the message. The hotel authorities alerted the Sarojini Nagar police and unlocked the room and found Pandey’s backpack that contained his clothes and a notebook.
“Pandey had written a suicide note on four pages. On the sister-in-law’s complaint, the Sarojini Nagar police lodged Pandey’s missing complaint. The family members, batchmates, and police officials tried to contact him on his mobile, but he did not answer the calls,” the officer said.
In the four-page suicide note, the officer said, Pandey wrote about his strained married life and that he was fed up with life. In the letter, he allegedly mentioned about his wife’s extrovert and strong personality and his being an introvert. “In the note he has written that he was upset because his parents did not get their due respect from his wife,” the officer said adding Pandey also wrote about his three-month-old daughter.