Arjuna Awardee India Reserve Battalion officer hangs self

Jalandhar: An Arjuna awardee Assistant Commandant, who was under suspension, allegedly committed suicide by hanging from a ceiling fan here, police said on Saturday.

45-year-old Narinder Singh, who had been suspended for the last two years, allegedly committed suicide last night at his official residence in Punjab Armed Police headquarters, upset over an ongoing criminal case against him, Additional Deputy Commissioner (City I) in Jalandhar J Ellenchejian said.

"The deceased was a part of the fifth India reserve Battalion as an Assistant Commandant and was under suspension. It seems as if he has taken this step under depression," Ellenchejian said.

Police recovered the body last night and it was sent for postmortem this morning. They also recovered the wire with which the officer hung himself. A case under CrPC 174 has been registered.

"Preliminary investigation suggests that this is a case of suicide, however it cannot be confirmed until the postmortem report comes out. Further investigation will proceed on that basis," Ellenchejian said.

The incident came to light when Narinder's wife discovered his body hanging from the ceiling fan upon entering his room last night, they said.

Senior police sources said a case was pending against Narinder Singh for allegedly killing a man when he was posted at Punjab Bhawan in New Delhi.

The sources said Narinder shot at a man, who had asked him the way, killing him.

Narinder was transferred to the India Reserve Batallion and later suspended, the source added.

Another official said there were allegations of eve-teasing levelled against the deceased by woman police officers. At that time, he was posted as the DCP.

The official said since a criminal case was pending against Narinder, his suspension was not revoked, which might have prompted him to take the drastic step.

Singh was a Judo champion and had been awarded the Arjuna award in 1998 for his commendable performances in the Commonwealth and Asian games, police said.