NEW DELHI: A senior Delhi Police officer allegedly committed suicide on Thursday morning by jumping off the police headquarters (PHQ) building in ITO in central Delhi, the police said.
Prem Ballabh, an officer of assistant commissioner of police rank, posted in the crime and traffic branch of Delhi Police, reached his office at around 9.30 am and greeted his colleagues. He then said nobody should disturb him. At around 10.15 am, he allegedly jumped from the window of the restroom, police said.
The 55-year-old officer, a resident of northeast’s Delhi Muajpur area and a native of Uttrakhand, is survived by his wife and three sons—all in their 20s and employed.
“Preliminary enquiry has revealed that the ACP was suffering from depression. He was also undergoing treatment for some illness and had spent some time in Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital,” said Rajesh Khurana, joint commissioner of police (central range). He added that the officer worked at the desk in police administration at the headquarters.
Later in the day, certain documents, including a note purportedly written by the ACP, were recovered by the police. The police claimed that in a note they had recovered, Ballabh had written that nobody was responsible for his death.
According to police officers, two ambulances were immediately rushed to the spot on being alerted about the incident and the deceased was take to the Lok Nayak Jai Praksah Naryan Hospital at Delhi Gate, situated a five-minute drive away from the PHQ.
Prem Ballabh had joined Delhi Police in 1986 as a head constable. In the more than 30 years of his career as a police officer, he was awarded with a police medal for meritorious service in 2016.
Delhi Police commissioner Amulya Patnaik visited the LNJP Hospital, where the body was kept, and he met the family members of the deceased and assured them of all possible help. (With PTI inputs)