Trying to hide from sleuths, NRHM accused falls to death

LUCKNOW: A city-based medicine trader fell to death while trying to hide in the balcony of his flat on the fourth floor of a residential building in Vikas Nagar area. A CBI team from Ranchi had raided his premises on Wednesday morning.

The deceased has been identified as Pradeep Kumar Agarwal, 57. He along with his wife Sangeeta Agarwal, brother Praveen and Praveen’s wife Preeti Agarwal are wanted in a case pertaining to irregularities in supply of medicines to government hospitals in Bihar under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM). The case lodged in Bihar in 2009 was later transferred to the CBI.

While Sangeeta had surrendered and is out on bail, the CBI recently got an arrest warrant issued for the other 3 accused.

“At around 7 am on Wednesday, the police control room was informed that a man had fallen from the fourth floor of Rohit Apartment in Sector 2 of Vikas Nagar. We rushed him to KGMU’s trauma centre where he succumbed to his injuries,” said Suneet Srivastava, station officer, Vikas Nagar police station. The police later came to know that the CBI team had raided his place early morning.

The CBI team raided flat number 301, address mentioned in the warrant, but Agarwal and his family resided in flat number 303 and 304 on the same floor.

The victim’s family later told police that when the CBI team was at flat number 301, Pradeep went to the balcony of flat number 303 to hide himself.

The family members came to know about the accident when the CBI team led by a sub-inspector Romi Pal returned after enquiring about him.

The victim’s family had reportedly told the CBI officials that he had gone to Indore for some business work.

The family owns a medicine factory in Gudamba area here and supplies medicines to different government and private agencies.

“The CBI sleuths have been informed about the incident,” said the SO.