Odisha

Orissa HC Quashes Murder Charge Against Former Malkangiri Collector In PA’s Death Case

By
OB Bureau

Cuttack: In a big relief for IAS officer Manish Agrawal, the Orissa High Court quashed the murder charge levelled against him in connection with the mysterious death of his personal assistant (PA) during his tenure as Malkangiri Collector in 2019.

The Single Judge Bench of Justice Sashikanta Mishra, however, sustained the charge of abetment of suicide and criminal conspiracy against Agrawal and other accused persons. “The foregoing narration relating to the events leading to commission of suicide by the deceased would prima facie, show that all the three accused persons had acted in unison to belittle the deceased in several ways and on multiple occasions which caused him to be mentally upset.”

The case will now be probed under Sections 306/120-B/34 IPC (abetment of suicide) instead of 302/506/201/204 of IPC (murder).

The court also asked for expeditious disposal of the case, within eight months.

As per the case record, Deba Narayan Panda, who was working as PA to Manish Agrawal, , the then Malkangiri Collector, went missing from his office on December 27, 2019. His body was recovered from Satiguda dam in Malkangiri the following day.

The postmortem report attributed his death to drowning and its complications. The body did not have any injury or mark of violence. The viscera report indicated that no poisonous compound, alcohol and drugs could be detected.

A year later, on November 30, 2020, the wife of the deceased alleged that he went to the residence of the Collector at about 10 am and never returned thereafter. Suspecting foul play, she filed a case in this regard at the court of Malkangiri Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate (SDJM), which directed for registration of a murder case against Agarwal and three others. The Odisha Police had also launched a CID-Crime Branch probe into the incident.

Challenging the Malkangiri SDJM court’s order, Agarwal had moved the Orissa HC.

OB Bureau

Recent Posts

TV Actor Nitin Chauhan Of ‘Tera Yaar Hoon Main’ Fame Dies At 35; Was It Suicide?

Mumbai: Television actor Nitin Chauhan’s untimely demise at the age of 35 has once again…

November 8, 2024

Vending On Footpath Banned During Cuttack Bali Jatra; Check Details

Cuttack: Vendors will not be allowed to do business on footpaths during the upcoming Bali…

November 8, 2024

Ranji Trophy: Despite Pattanaik Ton, Odisha Stare At Defeat After Following On Vs Mumbai

Mumbai: Sandeep Pattanaik completed a fighting century but that didn’t help Odisha avoid a follow-on…

November 8, 2024

Former BJD MLA Blames Naveen Patnaik For Party’s Debacle In Odisha Polls

Bhubaneswar: After several Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leaders blamed VK Pandian for the regional party’s…

November 8, 2024

PM Modi Slams Opposition’s Article 370 Resolution: ‘Conspiracy Against Kashmir’

Mumbai: The Congress-National Conference (NC) alliance which formed the government in Jammu & Kashmir after winning…

November 8, 2024

Chief Justice Chandrachud’s Last Day At Work: ‘Forgive Me If I Ever Hurt Anyone’

New Delhi: It was the last day in office for Dhananjaya Yeshwant Chandrachud as Chief…

November 8, 2024

Orissa HC Refuses To Quash FIR Against Lawyer Accused Of Taking Money From Client To Bribe Judge

Cuttack: The Orissa High Court has refused to quash a criminal case against a lawyer…

November 8, 2024

Low Pressure Over Bay Of Bengal In 48 Hours; Check Forecast For Odisha

Bhubaneswar: The cyclonic circulation over southwest Bay of Bengal is likely to intensify into a…

November 8, 2024