BHOPAL: A five-strong special investigation team (SIT) has been constituted to probe the high-profile September 30 killing of retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Rakesh Agrawal.
The SIT headed by AIG (state PHQ) Umesh Tiwari was constituted by the Bhopal Police Commissioner Sanjay Kumar on Wednesday evening, just a few hours after the office bearers of MP IAS Officers’ Association led by its president and state’s additional chief secretary (ACS) Manu Srivastava met the state’s CM Dr Mohan Yadav.
The delegation of the MP IAS Officers Association had urged the CM (who is also the state’s home minister) to ensure a fair, independent, and time-bound investigation into the murder of retired IAS officer.
In the memorandum submitted to the CM, the Association stated that the incident had caused deep concern throughout the administrative community and the society at large.
"This case is not merely limited to the murder of a senior retired administrative officer; it also concerns important issues such as the safety of citizens, the protection of senior citizens, and the need for an effective verification mechanism for the appointment of domestic helpers and caregivers." the association stated.
"Considering the gravity of the case and the circumstances surrounding it, it is essential that every aspect of the investigation be thoroughly examined and that no potential facts, evidence, or investigative leads be overlooked," the Association stated in the memorandum, while seeking the constitution of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) under the supervision of senior police officers.
Importantly, the 70-years-old retired bureaucrat Rakesh Agrawal was found murdered in the bedroom of his farmhouse in Bhopal’s Ratibad police station area on September 30 early morning.
Varun Kumar, who had been hired by the Agrawal family through a private agency, as caretaker-cum-male nurse for the ailing bureaucrat just a few days before the brutal killing, has been on the run since the September 30 incident and has emerged as prime suspect in police investigations.
A bounty of Rs 30,000 was initially declared on Varun’s arrest by the Bhopal Police Commissioner. The reward was subsequently raised to Rs 50,000 by the state’s DGP.
The prime suspect, however, still remains at large, even as multiple teams of Bhopal police have been searching all possible hideouts of the suspect in MP’s Gwalior-Chambal region, adjoining UP, besides parts of Delhi, Haryana and Punjab.