Arun Kumar Bal, a Joint Secretary in the Defence Ministry and one of the key officers handling the AgustaWestland VVIP helicopter scam, died here on Wednesday following a heart attack.
The 52-year-old officer suffered heart attack while on a morning walk in Nehru Park. He was rushed to a nearby hospital where was he was declared dead, Defence Ministry officials said. Arun Kumar Bal is survived by his wife, son, who is an engineering student in Vellore, and a daughter.
Bal was one of the first officers to go to Italy to collect evidence when the VIP helicopter scam involving kickbacks worth over `360 crore broke out in March this year.
A 1986-batch West Bengal cadre IAS officer, Bal was holding the important charge of Joint Secretary and Acquisition Manager (Air) in the Ministry where he was looking after all the acquisition projects of the IAF, including the multi-billion dollar 126 combat aircraft deal.