IPS officer Roy, disgusted with cancer, kills himself
Mumbai, May 11: Maharashtra's Additional Director General of Police Himanshu Roy, credited with directing investigations into several sensational crimes and high-profile cases, committed suicide by shooting himself in the head here on Friday afternoon.
Often referred to as 'Arnold Schwarzenegger' of Mumbai Police, the 54-year-old Roy shot himself in the mouth with his service revolver at his house in Suniti Apartments at Nariman Point shortly after 1 p.m., a police statement said.
He was rushed to the Bombay Hospital by family members and aides where he was declared dead.
A suicide note found in the house quoted Roy as saying that he was taking his life because he was disgusted with cancer, which he had been battling for some time.
Roy's suicide shocked the police community.
A 'Mumbai boy', Roy studied in the prestigious St. Xaviers College and became a Chartered Accountant. He cleared the UPSC exams to become an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of the 1988 batch.
During his preparations for the UPSC exams in Mumbai, he met his future wife Bhawna, who subsequently became an IAS officer but quit the civil services to devote herself to social work through NGOs in Maharashtra.
A regular gym trainer and fitness enthusiast, Roy would animatedly discuss healthy lifestyle, his fitness regime, diets and related issues with policemen and journalists.
He was popular among his juniors and would regularly guide them on the finer aspects of crime investigation, linking evidence with criminals and presenting a winning case in courts.
Roy started his police career as Superintendent of Police (Rural) in Nashik and Ahmednagar. Later, he headed the Economic Offences Wing in Mumbai, was Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic) and also headed the Cyber Crime Cell.
As former Joint Police Commissioner (Crime) and chief of Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS), Roy was credited with directing the investigations into several sensational crimes.
These included the murder of journalist J. Dey. Besides, he directed the probe into the IPL match fixing and betting scams of 2013 in which several top cricketers and Bollywood actor Vindu Dara Singh were among the accused.
He was instrumental in solving the brutal murder of lawyer Pallavi Puryakayastha -- daughter of an IAS couple at the Centre -- at her Mumbai home in August 2012.
In 2012, he was among the officers handpicked by then Home Minister R.R. Patil to oversee the shifting from Mumbai to Pune of Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab, found guilty in the Mumbai terror attack.
Again that year, he cracked the sensational killing of missing Bollywood starlet Laila Khan, who was murdered with five family members at an isolated countryhouse (farmhouse) in Nashik.
Roy oversaw the investigation into the August 2013 gang-rape of a woman photo-journalist inside the desolate Shakti Mills Compound in central Mumbai which culminated in death sentence for three of the accused.
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Strict security measures in place in Mumbai for Messi's events at 2 venues Dec 14, say police
Mumbai (PTI): In view of Argentine superstar footballer Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai on Sunday, the city police are implementing stringent security measures, like not allowing water bottles, metals, coins inside the stadiums and setting up watchtowers to keep an eye on the crowd, officials said.
The police also said taking extra care to avoid any stampede-like situation and to prevent recurrence of the chaotic situation that unfolded in Kolkata during Messi's visit on Saturday as thousands of fans protested inside the Salt Lake stadium here after failing to catch a clear glimpse of the football icon despite paying hefty sums for tickets.
Messi is expected to be present at the Cricket Club of India (Brabourne Stadium) in Mumbai on Sunday for a Padel GOAT Cup event followed by attending a celebrity football match. He is expected to proceed to the Wankhede Stadium for the GOAT India Tour main event around 5 pm.
"In view of Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai, the police are geared up and have put in place a high level of security arrangements in and around the stadiums located in south Mumbai. Considering the chaos that prevailed in Kolkata and the security breach, we have deployed World Cup-level security arrangements at Brabourne and Wankhede stadiums," an official said.
Expecting heavy crowd near the stadiums during Messi's visit, the city police force has deployed more than 2,000 of its personnel near and around both the venues, he said.
As the Mumbai police have the experience of security 'bandobast' during the victory parade of ICC World Cup-winning Indian team and World Cup final match at the Wankhede Stadium, in which over one lakh cricket fans had gathered, we are prepared to handle a large crowd of fans, he said.
"We are trying to avoid the errors that occurred in the past," the official said.
There is no place to sneak inside the stadiums in Mumbai like the Kolkata stadium, according to him.
The police are also asking the organisers to provide all the required facilities to the fans inside the stadium, so that there will be no chaos, he said, adding the spectators have purchased tickets in the range of Rs 5,000 to 25,000. After paying so much of amount, any spectator expects proper services, while enjoying the event, he said.
The police are expecting 33,000 spectators at the Wankhede Stadium and over 4,000 at Brabourne Stadium. Besides this, more than 30,000 people are expected outside and around the stadiums just to have a glimpse of the football sensation, he said.
The organisers responsible for Messi's India visit recently came to Mumbai to discuss security arrangements. During the meeting, the Mumbai police asked them not to take the event lightly, according to the official.
After those requirements were fulfilled, the final security deployment was chalked out, he said.
Police has the standard procedure of the security arrangements inside the Wankhede Stadium, where people are barred from taking water bottles, metals objects, coins. Police are setting up watch towers near the stadiums and there will be traffic diversions, so that there is maximum space available to stand, according to the official.
Police are also appealing to the spectators to use public transport service for commuting and avoid personal vehicles to reach south Mumbai.
To avoid any stampede-like situation, police are also taking precautionary measures and will stop the fans some distance ahead of the stadium and public announcement systems will be used to guide the crowd. Barricades will be placed at various places to manage the crowd.
In case the crowd swells up beyond expectation, the police will divert people to other grounds and preparations in this regard underway, he said.
Additional police force has been deployed in south Mumbai to tackle any kind of situation, he said.
