Guwahati: Unable to come to terms with his wife’s demise, Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Shiladitya Chetia, who was serving as Secretary, home and political department, in the Assam government, died by “suicide” Tuesday, confirmed authorities at the Nemcare Super Specialty hospital here.
Chetia took his life, only “ten minutes” after his wife breathed her last at the isolated Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the hospital. She was suffering from a terminal illness, Dr Hitesh Baruah, director of the hospital, told ThePrint.
“She had been battling terminal brain cancer the past few months. When she was declared dead at the isolated ICU, Chetia excused himself to pray and asked the on-duty doctors and nurses to step out for a moment. No one perceived such a situation… They heard a loud noise and came running to see Chetia’s body lying in a pool of blood,” Baruah said.
According to Baruah, Chetia shot himself in the back of his head with his service pistol. While his wife passed away around 4.24 pm, he died at around 4.32 pm.
Chetia’s body has been taken to the Guwahati Medical College hospital for a post mortem.
His wife was admitted at the hospital for the past four months. She was 43, a year younger than him.
A 2009 batch DIG-rank IPS officer, Shiladitya Chetia earlier served as Superintendent of Police in Golaghat, Barpeta and Sonitpur districts and oversaw counter insurgency operations in Tinsukia, before assuming charge as a secretary in the Assam government.
Taking to social media, Assam DGP G.P. Singh offered his condolences. “Entire Assam Police family is in deep grief,” he wrote.
In an unfortunate turn of events, Sri Shiladitya Chetia IPS 2009 RR, Secretary Home & Political Government of Assam, took his own life this evening, a few minutes after the attending physician declared the death of his wife who was battling cancer for a long time. Entire Assam… pic.twitter.com/s2yQpVuUpl
— GP Singh (@gpsinghips) June 18, 2024
Reports suggest Chetia was on leave for the past four months, presumably to attend to his ailing wife. The couple had no children, it is learnt.
If you are feeling suicidal or depressed, please call a helpline number in your state.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
Also Read: IIT-Delhi student dies by suicide, cops suspect ‘friend’s death drove him to depression’