C. Vijayakumar, Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Coimbatore Range, allegedly died by suicide at his camp office at Red Fields here on Friday. He was 47.
The officer allegedly grabbed his gunman Ravichandran’s pistol and shot himself point-blank on the forehead at the portico of the camp office at 6.50 a.m. He was about to leave for the Police Recruits School campus, around 2 km away, to play badminton. He died on the spot, the police said.
After Ravichandran raised the alarm, police personnel from the adjacent camp office of the Coimbatore Superintendent of Police rushed to the spot.
They took Vijayakumar to the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMCH), where doctors declared him brought dead.
Senior police officers, including Coimbatore City Police Commissioner V. Balakrishnan; West Zone Inspector-General of Police R. Sudhakar; and Coimbatore Superintendent of Police V. Badrinarayanan visited the camp office and the CMCH, where a post-mortem was done.
CM Stalin condoles death
Chief Minister M.K. Stalin expressed shock at the death of Vijayakumar. Recalling the officer’s service to the force in various capacities, including as the Superintendent of Police, Mr. Stalin said his death was a huge loss to the Tamil Nadu police.
Later in the day, A. Arun, Additional Director-General of Police (Law & Order), told journalists after the autopsy that Vijayakumar had been taking treatment for depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder for some years. “I spoke to the doctor who treated him. He had consulted the doctor four days ago and had said the depression had aggravated. He was given medicines. Officers in Coimbatore, such as the Commissioner and the IG, had been counselling him. His wife and daughter had been staying with him for the past few days as he was experiencing severe mental stress. This is a very sad incident, and there is no need to politicise it because it happened purely due to a medical reason,” he said.
Vijayakumar joined the service in 2003 as Deputy Superintendent of Police and became an IPS officer in 2009. He had been serving as the DIG, Coimbatore Range, from January 6 this year.
Call for CBI probe
AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami said Vijayakumar’s death was a big loss to the police force and urged the government for an investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation.
BJP Tamil Nadu president K. Annamalai said the suicide of a top police officer could not be taken lightly. “On behalf of BJP Tamil Nadu, I request the State government to ascertain the background of this suicide and take action through a serious investigation,” he said. Seeking the status of the report of a committee, headed by retired judge C.T. Selvam, for police reforms, he asked the government to explain the measures taken to fill the large number of vacancies in the department.
Minister for Tamil Development, Information and Publicity M.P. Saminathan paid homage to Vijayakumar at the CMCH before the body was taken to his native place in Theni district. The Race Course police have registered a case.
Cremated with honours
The body was cremated with police honours at Theni in the evening. Minister for Rural Development I. Periyasamy; DGP Shankar Jiwal; and Inspectors-General of Police Asra Garg and Sudhakar were among those who paid homage.
After the post-mortem in Coimbatore, the body was brought to the deceased’s native place, Rathinam Nagar. After the family members and relatives paid their last respects, the body was taken to the crematorium in a decorated vehicle. The cremation took place after a 21-gun salute.
(Assistance for overcoming suicidal thoughts is available on the State’s health helpline 104, Tele-MANAS 14416 and Sneha’s suicide prevention helpline 044-24640050.)
