Bhopal, Sep 30 — A retired IAS officer was allegedly murdered by slitting his throat at his residence in Bhopal's Surajnagar area, with police suspecting a domestic help who had been hired only two days before the incident and has gone missing.
The body of Rakesh Agarwal was found inside his house under the Ratibad police station limits with injuries caused by a sharp-edged weapon, police said. Agarwal was living at the residence with his wife.
The murder came to light after his body was found inside the house, following which senior police officials rushed to the spot.
Police Commissioner Sanjay Kumar and other senior officers inspected the crime scene.
The area was secured, and a Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) team was called in to collect and examine evidence.
The preliminary investigation has put the domestic help under the scanner. Police said the man had been hired by Agarwal around two days before the murder and has been missing since the incident.
"The investigation is at a preliminary stage. The domestic help is a prime suspect as he has been missing after the incident. Police teams are searching for him, and CCTV footage and other evidence are being examined," a Ratibad police official told IANS.
Multiple police teams are searching for the missing domestic help while investigators are examining CCTV footage from cameras installed at the residence and nearby locations to establish his movements.
The police are also questioning neighbours and other people familiar with the household to establish whether anyone had visited the residence around the time of the murder.
Investigators are examining physical evidence recovered from the scene along with the CCTV footage to reconstruct the sequence of events and ascertain the motive behind the killing.
Police have not yet confirmed the motive and are investigating whether the suspected domestic help acted alone or had assistance from others.
The body has been sent for post-mortem examination, while forensic teams are examining the evidence collected from the residence.
Further investigation is underway, police said.