Searched by CBI days ago,IAS officer kills himself,family; son is critical

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.

It was one of the worst scenes I have seen in my entire career. The sight was horrific,blood everywhere. It was ghastly, said Inspector General of Police Yogesh Bahadur Khurania.

He seemed to be under depression. The note leads us in the direction that he had made up his mind to kill himself, Bargarh SP Ashok Biswal 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), he wrote in one of his suicide notes,scribbled on an official pad and addressed to Minister of Overseas Affairs Vayalar Ravi.

The CBI searched his homes in Delhis RK Puram and Bhubaneswar and Bargarh on July 22.  

All we know is that I received a letter from him (Panda) saying that CBI has searched his office and house and he wanted to go on leave for 100 days. The leave was granted. We dont know anything else about the case as we have not received any communication from the CBI, Overseas Affairs Ministry Secretary K Mohandas said.

Sources said the CBI search came after it arrested Raju Shekhar,the Protector of Emigrants (POE) in Chennai,and two others including a recruiting agent.

The CBI said the custodial interrogation of those arrested in Chennai led to further searches at Chennai and in Delhi,which resulted in seizure of Rs 10 lakh and documents related to properties worth Rs. 2.17 crore. They did not specify whether the recoveries were made from Chennai or Delhi.  A CBI officer,who was part of the raid,said nothing significant was recovered from Pandas house.  

Panda,a 1983 batch officer of Orissa cadre,had joined the Ministry in October 2006 on a five-year deputation. His batchmates and friends remembered him as a jovial person. Mohandas said he had not received any serious complaint against Panda so far.

Pandas mother,who slept on the first floor of the house,rushed downstairs after she heard the gunshots. She found the bodies of her husband,her two daughters in two rooms. When she came out to the front verandah,she found Panda slumped in a chair and his wife lying lifeless. The pistol was lying a little away.  

VSS Medical College and Hospital superintendent Gunasagar Das said the bullet that hit Pandas son had passed through the head without touching any vital part of the brain. However,some bone fragments are now lodged inside the brain. We need to operate on his head to get out the piece. We hope he recovers, said Das.  

Panda,whom colleagues described as popular,respected and somewhat emotional,had just come to his village from Bhubaneswar on July 28. A day before he arrived in his village,he had bought 40 rounds of bullets from an armoury in Bhubaneswar.  Yesterday,he had hired a vehicle from a travel agency and went to a desolate place in Bhatli area. There he fired three rounds in the air from his licensed pistol which scared the driver. When the driver asked why he was firing,he asked hi,How far would the shots be heard? He then came back home, the SP said.  

Incidentally,Pandas elder brother had also committed suicide a few years ago.