A 70-year-old retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, Rakesh Agarwal, was murdered at his residence in Madhya Pradesh capital Bhopal’s Surajnagar area on Wednesday morning, sparking a manhunt for a newly hired caretaker who has gone missing after the attack, police said.
Rakesh Agarwal, a 1982 batch IAS officer, was attacked with a sharp-edged weapon on the neck. (Unsplash)
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Agarwal was attacked with a sharp-edged weapon on the neck.
Shailendra Chauhan, additional commissioner of police (Addl CP) Bhopal, said Agarwal’s caretaker, Varun Kumar, was the prime suspect.
“Kumar has been missing since the incident and his belongings were also not found in the house. He was hired just two days ago, on September 28, through a Punjab-based placement agency,” Chauhan said.
Investigators also found signs of an attempt to set the house on fire. The LPG cylinder pipe in the kitchen had been disconnected and the premises was filled with gas when officers arrived.
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Investigators also found signs of an attempt to set the house on fire. The LPG cylinder pipe in the kitchen had been disconnected and the premises was filled with gas when officers arrived.
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A senior police officer said Agarwal’s wife woke up around 5.30 am and was leaving for her morning walk when she found the main door locked from the outside. “She called another domestic help, Rajan Thapa, and then went to Agarwal’s room, where she found his body lying on the floor. She immediately informed the police,” the officer said.
I have spent over a decade chronicling Madhya Pradesh’s political and social landscape, covering politics, investigative journalism, crime, human interest, and government policy, blending sharp insight with ground‑level depth. I have closely tracked three assembly elections, three Lok Sabha elections, leadership transitions in MP while exposing governance lapses, tender irregularities, and flawed policy rollouts. My reports have revealed gaps in the Cheetah project, irregularities in medical education, rigging in recruitment exams, and loopholes in policy implementation. In crime reporting, I have moved beyond FIRs to map systemic patterns — from organised crime networks and gender‑based violence to custodial accountability — balancing urgency with sensitivity. My journalism is defined by a commitment to human interest. I have profiled the marginalised Bancchda community, documented atrocities against tribal groups, and highlighted efforts to preserve their culture through heritage liquor and revival of spiritual practices. I have reported on farmers struggling with failed MSP promises, giving voice to those often reduced to statistics in policy files. Passionate about field reporting, I have reported on rampant sand mining in Chambal and Narmada, pharmaceutical companies supplying medicines under altered names, the dire condition of schools and colleges, the plight of commercial sex workers, and skewed sex ratios in specific districts. Beyond deadlines, and as HT’s state correspondent and assistant editor in Madhya Pradesh, I engage with ministers, farmers, students, and activists, believing the best policy stories begin with a single human voice. A postgraduate in Journalism and Mass Communication, I also hold a diploma in sports journalism.
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Home/India News/Retd IAS officer killed in Bhopal home, assailant left LPG line open: Police
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