Daijiworld Media Network - Bhopal

Bhopal, Sep 30: A 70-year-old retired IAS officer, Rakesh Agrawal, was found dead with his throat slit inside the bedroom of his farmhouse in Suraj Nagar on the outskirts of Bhopal early Wednesday.

Agrawal, a 1982-batch Madhya Pradesh cadre officer, had last served as Director General of the RCVP Noronha Academy of Administration. He lived at the farmhouse, which falls under Ratibad police station limits, with his wife, while their son is based in the United States.

A male nurse who was hired three days before the incident to look after Agrawal has been missing since the incident and has emerged as the prime suspect, according to police.

Agrawal's wife, who was sleeping in a separate bedroom, woke around 6 am and found her door locked from outside. She called Rajan Thapa, a domestic worker who lives with his wife in the servants' quarters on the premises. Agrawal's bedroom was also found locked from outside. When the door was opened, his wife found him dead.

Police said the rubber pipe connected to the kitchen LPG cylinder had been cut, possibly in an attempt to set the house on fire. The almirahs had also been ransacked, suggesting that valuables may have been searched for.

Agrawal had recently been hospitalised with a severe spinal problem. After his discharge, the family hired a private agency, reportedly based in Punjab, which sent Varun Kumar as a male nurse and caretaker.

Kumar was not present at the farmhouse when Agrawal's body was discovered. Multiple police teams have been formed and raids are being conducted to trace him. No arrest had been reported at the time of writing.