Aretired Indian Foreign Services (IFS) officer allegedly committed suicide by shooting himself at his residence in South Delhi’s Shanti Niketan area on Wednesday afternoon. The deceased, identified as Rakesh Shankar (62), a 1979-batch IFS officer, was undergoing treatment for some ailment and was discharged on Wednesday from a city hospital. His last posting before his retirement was to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
According to the police, the incident took place around 3:30 pm when the retired IFS official was at his residence. His son, who lives with him, heard a gun shot and rushed to his room and saw him lying in a pool of blood. Police Control Room (PCR) immediately informed at 3:40 pm, following which the police rushed to the spot. Shankar’s body was found lying in his bedroom.
The police later recovered his licenced .32 bore revolver from the spot. Police said that he had apparently placed the gun in the right side of his temple and shot himself. The bullet had pierced his skull and exited from the other side killing him on the spot. “He had shot at his temple with his licensed revolver. Forensic team and ballistic team were called to lift the circumstantial evidence,” said a police official.
Meanwhile, the friends of the deceased claimed that he had taken voluntarily retirement from the IFS four years back. After his retirement he gave guest lectures at prominent universities and published books. He was working as Pro-Vice Chancellor of Galgotia University. He had been sick for the last two months and was admitted at the Fortis hospital for the last two days for dehydration-related problem. Although it seems to be a case of suicide but police are investigating the case from all angles.