Former CBI Director Ashwani Kumar found dead
Former Director of the Ashwani Kumar, who had served as Governor of Manipur and Nagaland, was found dead at his residence in Brockhurst, Shimla late on Wednesday night. He was 69.
New Delhi: Former Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Ashwani Kumar, who had served as Governor of Manipur and Nagaland, was found dead at his residence in Brockhurst, Shimla late on Wednesday night. He was 69.
Superintendent of Police, Shimla, Mohit Chawla, was quoted by news agency ANI as saying that ‘Mr. Kumar died by suicide.’
Media reports said he was in depression for a while now. NDTV reported that the police were verifying a suicide note and the family members were also being asked about it.
DGP Sanjay Kundu was quoted by NDTV as saying that it ‘was inappropriate’ to comment at this time and further inquiries were being done. The police took the body to the Indira Gandhi Medical College for a post-mortem examination.
A team from the hospital too rushed to the residence of Ashwani Kumar.
He joined the Indian Police Service in 1973 and became the DGP of Himachal Pradesh in 2006. In 1985, while being the Superintendent of Shimla, he was inducted into the then newly formed Special Protection Group (SPG), the elite force which now protects the Prime Minister. He became the first officer from the state to head the CBI, in 2008. He retired in 2010 and was teaching management students. He was Governor of Nagaland between 2013 and 2014. During that period, he was also given charge of Manipur.
He was at the helm of the CBI when it investigated the Aarushi Talwar murder case. He was ‘unhappy’ with the investigation and findings of the team headed by then Joint Director Arun Kumar. The investigators had given a clean chit to Arushi’s parents Nupur and Rajesh Talwar.
A second team was set up and it implicated the parents. However, the he Talwars were acquitted by the Allahabad High Court in 2017 even though the CBI court gave them a life sentence in 2013.