Buxar district magistrate found dead at #Ghaziabad station

police find suicide note

Mukesh Pandey, district magistrate of Buxar (Bihar) allegedly committed suicide by throwing himself in front of a train in Ghaziabad on Thursday night.

The government railway police (GRP) officials who started an initial investigation, identified him with the help of his identification cards and later informed the Ghaziabad district magistrate and police officers in Ghaziabad.

The GRP officers also recovered a suicide note, written in English language, from the body of the 2012 batch IAS officer and handed it over to the administrative officers.

Pandey’s head and body were found apart, raising suspicion that he had laid down on tracks before the train ran over him, GRP officials said.

“The deceased officer was wearing trouser and sandals while his t-shirt was ripped apart due to the impact of the speeding train. The incident took place under Ghaziabad GRP jurisdiction and we are awaiting more directions from the senior officers,” said Randhir Singh, circle officer (GRP), Ghaziabad.

Ghaziabad district magistrate Ministhy S who also reached the incident site said that besides a hand written suicide, a notebook was also found in his possession.

“Before his body was found on the railway tracks in Ghaziabad, he had called up a known person from Leela Palace Hotel in Delhi. The card of the hotel was also found from the incident site. This call was made to let the other person know that he was committing suicide. Later, his body was found on tracks in Ghaziabad. We have informed his family and forensic teams have reached the spot,” the DM said.

Unconfirmed sources said that the officer had discord with in-laws but the investigating teams are yet to confirm the motive.

The official district website of Buxar, Bihar says that Pandey assumed the office as district magistrate on August 4.

: 2012 batch IAS officer commits suicide before speeding train; body found on tracks, suicide note found @htTweets @HTNoidaGzb

According to GRP sources, the incident took place barely 200 metres from the Kotgaon railway crossing which is located below the National Highway 24. The site of suicide is located on the busy Ghaziabad-Howrah railway section which has heavy movement of trains towards Aligarh, Kanpur and other places.

However, the entire sequence of events leading to his suicide is still shrouded in mystery.

“I received an SMS from the DM at 3.36am on Thursday, asking me to come and take charge. He mentioned that he had to urgently leave for Delhi as his uncle was not well. I saw the SMS at 6am and reached the circuit house, where the officer was staying after his posting to the district on August 4, at 7am. The caretaker gave me the DM’s official mobile phone and said he left at 4am for Patna, where he had a morning flight to catch,” Buxar deputy development commissioner, Mobin Ali Ansari told HT.

Ansari further said, “There was nothing unusual about him when we last met on Wednesday evening during the Prime Minister’s video conference with the cabinet secretary, chief secretaries and district magistrates of the country. The officer even tipped off his driver and personal security guard at the Patna airport. He asked them to come and receive him after two days when he would return from Delhi.”