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Top Indian official under CBI lens for emigration scam kills family, self
WSN Network

In a strange and tragic turn of events, a senior IAS officer who was Protector General of Emigrants in India's Ministry of Overseas Affairs, Jagadananda Panda, shot four of his family members and then seems to have killed himself at his ancestral home in Bargarh, Orissa. He was currently being investigated by the CBI that had searched his office and residence on July 22 over an emigration scam in Chennai.

The 53-year-old Orissa-cadre officer, on Central deputation since 2006, shot his father Munshi (75), wife Surekha (46), elder sister Bijayalaxmi (57) and younger sister Kishori (44) before killing himself with a pistol at his home in Deogaon village at around 2 am on Friday.

Balwant Singh Ramoowalia, however, had a different view point and said Panda was far from being an honest officer and his earlier meetings with him had left Ramoowalia unconvinced.

Panda also tried to kill his son 22-year-old Swapneswar Panda, an engineering student, who is now battling for his life at a government hospital in Sambalpur.

In a note that the deceased officer left behind, he said, “I am innocent. My simplicity betrayed me. The CBI did not find even a penny from my house. My belongings in Delhi may be allowed to be brought back to Bhubaneswar by D P Dash (nephew).” The CBI searched his homes in Delhi’s RK Puram and Bhubaneswar and Bargarh on July 22.    

In a country where there is a marked proclivity to jump to conclusions, Panda’s death is likely to put huge question marks on probe. The fact that CBI often trips or acts for extraneous reasons will raise more suspicions.

5 August 2009
 

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