Family problems behind Buxar DM’s suicide?

PATNA/ GUWAHATI: Buxar DM Mukesh Kumar Pandey had strenuous relations with his wife Ayushi Shandilya since their marriage, one of his colleagues said on Friday.
A video is doing the rounds in which Pandey is seen saying that he is going to commit suicide and that he is recording the video at the circuit house in Buxar. “If you were seeing this message then it must be after my suicide.I am pre-recording this video at the circuit house and here only I have decided that I will end my life after reaching Delhi,” Pandey says in the video, adding that he had become frustrated in life and the relation between his wife and his parents were not good.
“Me and my wife were just like chalk and cheese and we were not compatible with each other,” he says further in the video. TOI has not been able to verify the veracity of the video.
The 2012 batch IAS officer had married Ayushi, daughter of a Patna businessman Rakesh Singh, in November 2013 and the couple has a three-month-old daughter. In his suicide note, Pandey had said that he “is disappointed with life and has no faith in humanity”.
A senior government official, who had worked with Pandey in Katihar where he was posted as deputy development commissioner (DDC) prior to his posting in Buxar DM on March 31, said the officer used to live in the town all alone and his wife would visit him occasionally. “After his daughter’s birth, he had said only his parents-in-law would decide her name,” the officer said, adding that Pandey was very methodical professionally despite his “family problems”.
While Pandey’s father-in-law owns a big automobile showroom in the heart of Patna, his parents Sudeshwar and Geeta, who live in Guwahati, are from middle class family.
A former security personnel deployed with Pandey has told some officers in Katihar that he was witness to Pandey being “humiliated” by his in-laws. “Whenever he visited their place in Patna, they would make him sit in the back seat of the SUV while the rest of the family members would sit in the front and middle rows,” the policeman said.
None of Pandey’s in-laws in Patna were available for reaction. His family members in Guwahati said he had normal conversation with his father when he telephoned him on Tuesday. “Mukesh called up his father Siddheshwar Pandey on Tuesday and was talking about his new posting. He even enquired about his father’s diabetic status,” said a family member.
However, on Thursday evening, his father received a message on WhattsApp in which Mukesh said he was upset and wanted to kill himself. “He sent a message that he had checked into a hotel in New Delhi and was planning to commit suicide. Immediately, Delhi Police was alerted. Later, we came to know about his death through TV channels,” said a family member.
Several of Pandey’s friends and family members received the same message from his phone on Thursday evening, but his phone was found to be switched off. His family members informed his sister-in-law in New Delhi who alerted the Sarojini Nagar police station and filed a missing complaint.
Buxar DDC Mobin Ali Ansari said the IAS officer had sent him an SMS at 3.36am on Thursday, stating that his maternal uncle had suffered a massive cardiac arrest and that he had to rush to Patna. “After reaching Patna, Pandey flew to New Delhi telling his driver and bodyguard at Patna airport that he will return after two days,” Ansari said.
Superintendent of rail police, Moradabad, Keshav Kumar Chaudhary said Pandey was “spotted in the area by some railway personnel” before his body was found on the tracks. Pandey had taken charge as Buxar DM just a week ago. This was his first posting as DM, after being transferred from Katihar.
Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal has asked authorities to make all arrangements for Pandey’s last rites in Guwahati. “The state government has taken all necessary arrangements. His body will be flown from New Delhi to Guwahati on Saturday,” said an official statement.