Two months after a murder FIR was lodged against former Malkangiri district collector Manish Agrawal and three others on the direction of a judicial magistrate for alleged involvement in the collector’s personal assistant’s death under mysterious circumstances, Odisha police ordered a CID probe into the case.
In an order on Thursday evening, Odisha director general of police (DGP) Abhay said the CID-Crime Branch would investigate the case under sections 302, 506, 201,204, 120B and 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The order came hours after the wife of the deceased on Thursday filed a case at Malkangiri SDJM court against the district SP, alleging that he and five other police officials were trying to suppress the case.
On December 27, 2019, Debnarayan Panda, personal assistant to Manish Agrawal, former district collector of Malkangiri, had gone missing from his office. Next day, his body was recovered from Satiguda dam in Malkangiri town and his motorcycle and helmet were found lying near the dam. Though police had initially registered a suicide case and later an unnatural death case, Panda’s widow Banaja Panda alleged that he may have been murdered since he came to know about the alleged involvement of the collector and others in corruption.
On Thursday, Banaja Panda moved a separate case before the court of sub divisional judicial magistrate, alleging that there has been no headway in the SIT probe undertaken by SP Rishikesh Dnyandeo Khilari. She also accused the inspector of Malkangiri police station and four other police officials, including an inspector of district intelligence bureau.
{{/usCountry}}On Thursday, Banaja Panda moved a separate case before the court of sub divisional judicial magistrate, alleging that there has been no headway in the SIT probe undertaken by SP Rishikesh Dnyandeo Khilari. She also accused the inspector of Malkangiri police station and four other police officials, including an inspector of district intelligence bureau.
{{/usCountry}}"In the last two months, the SIT has done no investigation. We are being forced to accept that my husband's death was a case of suicide. The accused in the case have not been properly questioned. We were also asked to handover all proof against police," alleged the wife of the deceased.
In November last year, Banaja had moved the court of SDJM in Malkangiri, seeking lodging of a case of murder against IAS officer Agrawal and three others.