Bhopal: Police have announced a ₹50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Varun Kumar, the caretaker who is the prime suspect in the murder of Rakesh Agrawal, a retired 1982-batch IAS officer of the Madhya Pradesh cadre, in Bhopal. Multiple police teams are searching for Kumar across Madhya Pradesh and four other states.
Kumar has remained untraced since the September 30 murder. Police teams from the Ratibad police, Crime Branch and Zone-I units, along with technical teams, are examining his movements, contacts and possible hideouts. Reports put the number of teams involved at around 15, with searches extending to Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi.
Police Track Digital and Travel Footprints
Investigators are analysing mobile-phone activity, digital footprints and CCTV footage to establish Kumar’s movements after the crime.
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Police have traced his movements towards Agra and the Agra-Mathura route. Investigators are also examining railway-station CCTV footage on routes leading towards Delhi, Punjab and Haryana.
Police have questioned Kumar’s father, sister and brother-in-law as part of efforts to identify his possible contacts and locations. His family members reportedly told investigators that they had no recent contact with him.
Retired IAS Officer Found Dead at Bhopal Residence
Rakesh Agrawal, a 1982-batch Madhya Pradesh-cadre IAS officer, was found dead at his Suraj Nagar residence in Bhopal on September 30. Police said he had suffered injuries to his neck from a sharp-edged weapon.
Kumar had been hired through a healthcare placement agency only a few days before the incident. Police subsequently identified him as the prime suspect after he went missing following the killing.
Investigators also found broken cupboard locks at the residence. The LPG cylinder pipe had been disconnected, and police have been examining whether the gas leak was part of an attempt to set the house on fire after the killing.
Police Examine Caretaker Agency
The agency that supplied Kumar to the Agrawal household has also come under investigation. Police are examining the circumstances of his recruitment, the documents submitted by him and the verification process before he was assigned to the retired officer’s residence.
The investigation has also expanded to Agrawal’s previous financial disputes. Police are examining two earlier fraud cases involving alleged losses of about ₹5 crore to determine whether they have any connection with the murder.
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