Bhubaneswar: A court in Odisha has issued non-bailable warrant (NBW) against IAS officer Manish Agrawal in connection with the mysterious death of his personal assistant (PA) during his tenure as Malkangiri Collector in 2019.

The court of Sub-divisional District Magistrate (SDJM) in Malkangiri has also issued NBWs against three others in connection with the case.

The SDJM court in Malkangiri has issued NBW against the IAS officer, who is now working as the Additional Secretary to Planning & Convergence Department in Odisha, after he failed to depose before the court despite the issuance of several notices in this regard.

Debnarayan Panda, personal assistant to the then Malkangiri Collector Manish Agrawal, went missing from his office on December 27, 2019.

Panda’s body was recovered from Satiguda dam in Malkangiri the next day. The police had initially registered a suicide case and later an unnatural death case in connection with Panda’s death.

However, Panda’s wife alleged that he might have been murdered since he was aware of the alleged involvement of the Malkangiri district Collector and others in cases of corruption.

Panda’s wife had filed a case in this regard at the court of Malkangiri SDJM.

As per the direction of the Malkangiri SDJM, a murder FIR was lodged against Agrawal and three others. The Odisha Police had also launched a CID-Crime Branch probe into the incident.