IAS officer kills 4 of family, self

Bargarh (Orissa), July 31 (PTI) In a sensational case
of murder and suicide, a senior IAS officer shot dead his
wife, father and two sisters before turning the gun on himself
at his residence in a nearby village Thursday late night after
he was said to be depressed over CBI filing a case against
him.

A 1983-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS)
officer, Jagadananda Panda also shot his 22-year-old son
Swapneswar, who was critically injured and is battling for his
life in a local hospital, where he was operated upon. All the
five were shot from close range and had bullet injuries in the
head, police said.

Panda was the Protector General of Emigrants (PGE) in
the Overseas Indian Affairs department in Delhi and was
believed to be in a state of depression after Central Bureau
of Investigation (CBI) raided his house. Details of the case
against him were not not available immediately.

The bodies of Surekha (46), father Manus (75) and two
sisters Bijayalaxmi (57) and Kishori (44) were found lying in
a pool of blood in his residence in Deogaon village near
Sambalpur in India's eastern state of Orissa after his mother,
who is said to have heard the gunshots, rushed from the first
floor and called neighbours.

A suicide note, purportedly signed by the official,
was found from his house in Deogaon, about six km from here,
said Inspector General of Police Y B Khurania. It has been
sent for examination by handwriting experts.

"There are indications that Panda killed his family
members before shooting himself but further investigation is
required," Khurania said.

Police said Panda, a Special Relief Commissioner in
Orissa before proceeding to Delhi on deputation, had purchased
40 rounds of bullets from a private arms dealer in Bhubaneswar
on July 27. 31 live cartridges were recovered from the house.

Panda, whose home in Deogaon was raided by CBI last
week, had come on two months leave and had gone to Turkel near
his village where he practised firing after his arrival from
Delhi two days ago, police said quoting the driver of a
vehicle hired by the official.

All the bodies bore bullet wounds in the head and
appeared to have been shot from close range, police said.

The official's mother, who was on the first floor of
the house, came down after hearing gun shots and called the
neighbours, police said adding the main door and other entries
were shut from inside.

Panda's son Swapneswar was in the intensive care unit
now and could throw light on what had happened after recovery.

Doctors attending on him said there were chances of
his survival as the bullet had hit frontal portion of his
head.

Orissa Home Secretary A P Padhi said the priority now
was to save Panda's son by bringing to Bhubaneswar for
treatment, if necessary.

Though it was believed that Panda could have taken the
extreme step as he was upset due to a CBI case in connection
with which his house was raided, it was not clear what the
case was about.

Among the items recovered from Panda's house was the
receipt showing his purchase of 40 rounds of bullets for his
revolver at a price of Rs. 2, 961, an official associated with
the investigation told PTI.

Panda had reached Bhubaneswar from Delhi on July 27
and arrived in Bargarh the next day. His wife and son were
also with him when he came to the village.

Police, however, could not say whether his wife and
son were aware that Panda was in possession of 40 live
bullets. PTI