Members of village development officers association staged an agitation in Bhimtal, Nainital on Friday, demanding the arrest of those who were involved in the murder of the village development officer Paniram posted at Dhauladevi in Almora district on Wednesday night. Protesters led by association general secretary S Samant met the chief development officer and submitted a memorandum demanding maximum punishment to the accused.
The revenue police sources said that Paniram was found murdered in the first floor veranda of the building he was residing in. Along with some people known to him, he arranged a party in his house on Wednesday night during which he boozed a great deal, a revenue police officer said, adding that he might have been murdered by one of his acquaintances following a heated scuffle. He further said that the body bore signs of being dragged from the first floor to the ground floor with injuries found on his head.
Paniram, resident of loharkhet, Bageshwar, had been working as the village development officer for the past 10 years at the same place. Along with the local police, revenue police are questioning the suspects, it is learnt.