BHOPAL: A 70-year-old retired IAS officer, Rakesh Agrawal, was found dead with his slit throat inside the bedroom at his farmhouse in Suraj Nagar, on the outskirts of Bhopal, early Wednesday.
Three days, before the incident, a male nurse was hired to look after him and has been missing since the incident as per police and is emerging as the prime suspect.
Agrawal, a 1982-batch Madhya Pradesh cadre officer, last served as Director General of the RCVP Noronha Academy of Administration. He lived at the farmhouse, which falls under Ratibad police station limits, with his wife. Their son is based in the United States.
Around 6 am, Agrawal's wife woke in a separate bedroom and found her door locked from outside. She called Rajan Thapa, a domestic help who lives with his wife in the servants' quarters on the premises. Agrawal's room was also locked from outside. When it was opened, she found her husband dead.
Agrawal's wife, who was staying in separate bedroom woke up at 6 am and found her door locked from outside. she called the domestic servants staying in the farmhouse premises and found Agrawal's door also locked from outside, when opened found her husband dead.
Police said the rubber pipe of the kitchen's LPG cylinder had been cut, possibly to set the house on fire. The almirahs had been ransacked, suggesting a search for valuables.
Agrawal had recently been hospitalised for a severe spinal problem. After his discharge, the family engaged a private agency, reportedly Punjab-based, which sent Varun Kumar as a male nurse and caretaker. Kumar was not at the house when the body was found.
Police sources said he has emerged as the prime suspect. Multiple teams have been formed and are conducting raids to trace him. No arrest had been reported at the time of writing.