Nov. 6 (Bloomberg) -- The International Monetary Fund added $35,000 to the reward for information that would help police solve the shooting last month of an IMF official in the garage of his suburban Washington home.

The money was contributed to the nonprofit group Crime Solvers of Montgomery County, Maryland, IMF spokesman Jennifer Beckman said today in an interview. That helped bring the total reward to $36,000.

The IMF employee was Ashoka Mody, who was shot several times with a handgun and has been transferred from one medical facility to another, said Captain Paul Starks, a spokesman for the Montgomery County Police in Rockville, Maryland. He still has serious injuries, he added.

“It’s still very wide open, we’re looking at many different motives,” Starks said. “There’s nothing to indicate that it has anything to do with his employment” with the IMF, he said.

Mody, a 53-year-old economist originally from India, has worked at the Washington-based lender for eight years and is mission chief to Germany and Ireland. He was shot Oct. 8 as he arrived at his Bethesda, Maryland, house. He is an assistant director in the IMF’s European department.

His wife, Jyothsna Mody, today called on potential witnesses to share any information they may have.

‘Family Man’

“My husband is a very hard-working family man. No one can understand why anything like this could possibly have happened to him,” she told reporters, holding sheets with prayers in one hand, in Rockville today. “Please come forward with any tip you have to help resolve this case.”

The IMF Web site shows that in 2006 and 2007, Mody wrote op-ed pieces or letters to the editor on countries such as Hungary, Lithuania and Estonia. Before joining the IMF, Mody worked at the World Bank, according to Beckman.

The suspect, who was seen fleeing on foot from Mody’s driveway, is described as an individual of medium build, dressed in dark clothing and wearing a mask, according to police. A mask was found on Mody’s driveway, made out of a winter hat in which holes were cut for the eyes and mouth, according to a photo shown to reporters.

Police also said a small, dark-colored car being driven with its lights off was seen on Millwood Road, where the victim lives, shortly after the time of the shooting.

Starks said he wasn’t aware of any threat Mody could have gotten ahead of the assault. Asked whether the incident could be related to a dispute within the family or the Indian community, he said that “in a case like this, this is one of the things we look at,” as part of “looking at it in a broader scope.”

The number to call Crime Solvers of Montgomery County to alert the organization on possible information is 1-866-411- 8477.

To contact the reporter on this story: Sandrine Rastello in Washington at srastello@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: November 6, 2009 17:37 EST