“Agar murder nikla to koi baat nahin, agar suicide (by abetment) hoga to hum bhi nahi bach sakte” (If it turns out to be murder we can handle it, but if its suicide by abetment even we’ll be in trouble).” These were the words of a senior Sitamarhi police official on the mysterious death of PWD engineer Yogendra Pandey, who ‘fell’ to his death on June 18 from the Sitamarhi collectorate.

A murder would mean that the CBI can detain a few persons and can only hold the district police (SP in this case) responsible for negligence in not providing security to Pandey.

But if it is suicide, Sitamarhi SP Chhatranil Singh is in for serious trouble. An abetment to suicide case under Section 306 of IPC can be registered against him, his reader and a constable, along with some others. SP Chhatranil Singh, however, refused to comment, saying he was “unwell”.

The IPC says if any person commits suicide, whoever “abets the commission of such suicide”, shall be punished with imprisonment for up to 10 years, and shall also be liable to fine.

The Express investigation at Sitamarhi showed that the DM’s office had forwarded Pandey’s request for security twice (in May 2008 and June 2009). It was up to the SP to ensure that Pandey’s request was met.

Incidentally, the 57 people who were recently given security cover in Sitamarhi included not one engineer.

It is also learnt that the district security committee, which decides on giving security to a person, has not met for one and a half years. A police officer confirmed that a constable named Shashi — though transferred out of Sitamarhi six months ago — was “at the service of his SP” in grabbing Pandey by the collar when the engineer demanded security a month ago. Now that the CBI has taken over the case from the state police — and taken a statement from IO Rita Kumari — it has to examine several key factors:

... contd.