Bhubaneswar: In a major development, the Orissa High Court has denied anticipatory bail to 2012 batch senior IAS officer Manish Agrawal, former District Collector of Malkangiri, in connection with the alleged suicide of his stenographer, Deba Narayan Panda.
The court also rejected bail pleas of co-accused Prakash Chandra Sway and V. Benu, intensifying the legal scrutiny on the officials. Meanwhile, Bhagban Panigrahi, another accused, has been asked to surrender within three weeks, with conditional bail assurance due to reported health issues.
Initially suspected to be a murder, the case has now been reframed under abetment to suicide, as the investigation continues into the high-profile 2019 incident that has stirred concerns over workplace harassment in government offices.
