MALKANGIRI : Senior IAS officer Manish Agarwal on Thursday surrendered before the Malkangiri SDJM court and was released on interim bail in connection with the case on abetment of suicide of his personal assistant (PA) when he was the district collector five years back.
Agarwal, who is currently the additional secretary in Planning and Convergence department, had moved the Supreme Court after the Orissa High Court rejected his anticipatory bail petition on April 25. While issuing notice returnable on July 22 to the state government, the apex court had directed Agarwal to surrender before the trial court and furnish bail bonds for his release on interim bail.
Accordingly, the IAS officer surrendered in the trial court and was released on bail after furnishing two sureties of `50,000 each, said Agarwal’s lawyer Nrusingh Charan Mohanty.
According to the case records, body of Deba Narayan Panda, who was PA to then collector Agarwal, was fished out from Satiguda dam on December 28, 2019. Police registered a case of unnatural death and suicide, but Panda’s wife accused the collector of murder.
Initially, Agarwal was booked for murder and the SDJM court took cognisance of the charge. But on June 26, 2023, the high court ruled that there is no prima facie case against Agarwal for the offences and directed the trial court to proceed against him for abetment of suicide.
The former Malkangiri collector challenged the HC order in a special leave petition (SLP) before the Supreme Court. In November 2024, the apex court had refused to interfere, allowing the trial for abetment to suicide to proceed.
Later, the SDJM issued a non-bailable warrant (NBW) against Agarwal, requiring his personal appearance and proof of identity. The IAS officer then approached the high court which granted a temporary stay on the NBW pending further hearing.