Retired judicial officer found dead on railway track in Kota, suicide suspected

Virendra Singh Pathak (65) was found dead near Mala Phatak area under Bhimganjmandi police station limits of Kota city while his car was parked around 100 metres away from the railway tracks, Circle Inspector Harshraj Singh told reporters. Police termed it a prima facie case of suicide and handed over the body to his family members after a postmortem.

The mutilated body of a 65-year-old retired judicial officer was recovered here on Sunday morning from the railway tracks on the Delhi-Mumbai line in a suspected case of suicide, police said. Virendra Singh Pathak (65) was found dead near Mala Phatak area under Bhimganjmandi police station limits of Kota city while his car was parked around 100 metres away from the railway tracks, Circle Inspector Harshraj Singh told reporters.

Police termed it a prima facie case of suicide and handed over the body to his family members after a postmortem. However, no suicide note was recovered from the deceased judicial officer's possession. Pathak was a resident of Saraswati Colony of the city and had retired as additional district judge (ADJ), according to the policeman.

The officer's car was found locked around 100 metres away from the tracks, he added. The judicial officer had reportedly left home in his car early on Sunday morning for a routine morning walk, he further said.

According to eyewitnesses, a railway engine passed over the track around 4.30 am on Sunday and the judicial officer had likely jumped in front of it to commit suicide, the CI said. The police lodged a case of unnatural death under Section 174 (police to enquire and report on suicide) of CrPC and initiated an investigation, he added.