FIR against 6 people in woman panchayat officer suicide case

An FIR has been registered against six people in connection with the alleged suicide of a woman panchayat executive officer here, police said on Thursday.

Mani Manjari Rai, 27, allegedly died by suicide at her rented accommodation here on Monday, with her father claiming that she was "murdered".

"An FIR was lodged against chairman, Maniyar Nagar Panchyat, Bheem Gupta, executive officer, Sikandarpur Nagar Panchyat, Sanjay Rao and four others under IPC section 306 (abetment of suicide) at the Ballia police station on Wednesday," Additional Superintendent of Police Sanjay Yadav said.

The FIR was registered by the officer's brother Vijayanand Rai, who alleged that "these people put undue pressure on her for payments and tender for new work".

The officer's family stays in Ghazipur district of Uttar Pradesh.

In her suicide note, which was recovered from the spot, she said that she was "cheated and had to do some wrong work".

Her body was found hanging in a room at her rented accommodation at Awas Vikas Colony on Monday night.

Rai was the executive officer of the Maniya Nagar Panchayat and this was her first posting to Ballia.

Earlier, the executive officer's father, Jai Thakur Rai, had claimed that his daughter did not die by suicide but was "murdered" and "hanged".

"My daughter cannot commit suicide. She was murdered. I don't know who murdered her. It was done for payment and wrong work in the panchayat. I want justice," he had alleged.