IGP shoots himself dead in Shimla

A senior IPS officer allegedly committed suicide today by shooting himself here, with his son alleging that harassment by some of his colleagues led him to taking the extreme step, a charge denied by two top cops.

Jagjeet Kumar, 57, who was posted as inspector general of police (railway and traffic) here, shot himself with his service revolver in his right temple at his city residence and died on the spot, Shimla superintendent of police RM Sharma told PTI.

Police came to know about the incident at around 3.30am and rushed to the IGP's home near Mehli More in Kasumpti area to find the officer lying in a pool of blood, the SP said.

An 1985-batch IPS officer, Kumar is survived by a son and a daughter. His wife had died last year.

Kumar's son Suraj while talking to some mediapersons alleged that his father took the extreme step due to "harassment" he faced from some senior police officers.

Terming the allegation as "false", inspector general of police (law and order) Pardeep Kumar, claimed that the officer, a resident of Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh, was facing "serious domestic problems" because of his son, who had earlier been arrested in a car theft case in Delhi.