The rented house in Hazaribagh where Harinandan Prasad Sinha was found dead on Thursday. (Vishvendu Jaipuriar)

A government official, who was known to be in the bad books of unscrupulous PDS dealers for his zealous advocacy of fair price, was found murdered at his rented house in the heart of Hazaribagh town on Thursday afternoon.

One person has been detained for interrogation, while a forensic team and a sniffer dog have been pressed into service to crack the unprecedented case.

According to police, block supply officer (sadar) Harinandan Prasad Sinha (55) was alone on the first floor of the house at Shyam Sundar Nagar Colony in Matwari when unidentified assailants bludgeoned him with an iron block, weighing around 10kg.

The incident took place between 3pm and 3.30pm, when Sinha was perhaps preparing chapattis for lunch. Besides the murder weapon, a tin of flour was found on the floor and the stove was turned on.

Owner of a fair price shop in Silwar and Sinha’s close friend Basudev Mahto was the first to spot the blood-caked body around 3.40pm.

Mahto informed Sinha’s landlord Pradeep Kumar, living on the ground floor. The latter informed the police and the victim’s brother-in-law Ajit Kumar at Police Line Colony. Ajit is an additional public prosecutor posted in Koderma.

Sinha’s wife Maya, who recently underwent a surgery, was at Ajit’s home at the time of the incident. Her two sons study in Ranchi.

Sources in the police said the victim, posted in Hazaribagh since 2008, was a PDS whistle-blower and hence had many adversaries.

A week ago, Sinha had raided a fair price shop at Subhash Marg and found irregularities. He had lodged an FIR (No. 366/12) against owner Manoj Kumar Gupta under the Essential Commodities Act. Gupta is being interrogated.

Last year, when Sinha raided another shop in Sindoor, he was taken hostage by dealers and released only after police intervention.

Hazaribagh SP Pankaj Kamboj, who inspected the murder site with forensic experts, said the assailants were three in number. “They had an altercation with the victim after which they hit him on the head with the iron block. He died on the spot,” Kamboj said.

The SP said Sinha ran his office from one of the rooms in the house and many people, mostly fair price shop dealers, visited him every day. He also admitted that Sinha had lodged cases against dealers involved in corrupt practices. “Some names have appeared in the case and we will interrogate them,” he added.

Neighbours remembered Sinha as a nice man. They said the condition of Maya had deteriorated ever since she saw her husband’s body.

The body has been sent to Hazaribagh sadar hospital for post-mortem.