Woman agri official’s death: Kin accuse 3 colleagues of harassment, blackmail

Patna: Family members of a 26-year-old assistant technical manager with the agriculture department in Siwan, who was found dead in her rented room, on Wednesday lodged a murder complaint against three of her colleagues, alleging harassment and blackmail.

According to police, the victim, Shristi Kumari, was found hanging in her rented accommodation at Laxmipur Colony under Town police station area on Tuesday night. A native of Hajipur in Vaishali district, Shristi had joined as assistant technical manager at the block agriculture officer’s office in Hasanpura block in 2023.

Family members alleged that three colleagues — identified as Nagendra Singh, Satish Kumar and Ranjan Pandey — were harassing her and that one of them had recorded an objectionable video of her. They claimed this harassment drove her to death and rejected the genuineness of the suicide note recovered from the spot, alleging it was not in her handwriting.

Police said a suicide note was found in the room, which read: “I tried but could not handle things. Please forgive me, mummy, for the grief I gave you.” However, the victim’s brother, Ashutosh, claimed the handwriting did not match his sister’s.

Ashutosh told police that Shristi had travelled from Hajipur to Siwan by Maurya Express on April 6 and spoke to the family at around 9pm the same day. “Her phone remained switched off from the morning of April 7. When we failed to contact her, we informed the landlord,” he said.

The landlord, who was in Delhi at that time, asked neighbours to check on her. Police said the neighbours found the door unlocked and found Shristi hanging inside the room, with her feet touching the ground. The matter was immediately reported to the police.

Town SHO Avinash Kumar said a complaint had been lodged by the victim’s brother, accusing the three colleagues of murder. “The complaint alleges that the deceased was being harassed at her workplace. The handwriting of the suicide note is also under scrutiny,” he said, adding that investigations were underway.

Police have seized Shristi’s cellphone and are examining call records, messages and the suicide note. They are also questioning colleagues and collecting evidence to ascertain the circumstances leading to her death.

According to police sources, Shristi had earlier faced allegations of taking money during field visits while posted at Pakri Panchayat, following which a related video had surfaced. She was subsequently transferred to Laheji Panchayat.

Shristi’s father had died of cancer a few years ago. Police said further action would be taken based on the outcome of the investigation.