Imphal:
Atop officer of Manipur police department allegedly shot himself in his office Saturday afternoon, officials said. The officer, Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Arvind Kumar, is undergoing treatment at the Raj Medicity hospital here, they said.
The top brass of the state police and officials, including Chief Secretary J Suresh Babu, visited the hospital. The chief secretary said Kumar’s condition is serious but he is responding to the treatment and has also spoken to the doctors.
“He will be sent to Delhi, once his condition improves,” Babu added. Doctors have operated on him, hospital sources said.
Official sources said an air ambulance has been arranged to shift Kumar to Delhi for better treatment once his condition is stable. It takes around three hours from Imphal to Delhi by air and it cannot be done unless his condition improves, they said. Kumar, a 1992-batch IPS officer of the Manipur cadre, shot himself with his service revolver in his office in Manipur Rifles Compound around 1 pm, said a senior police officer.
He shot himself in his chin and the bullet pierced through his skull, he said. It is being probed why he took the step, he added.
Before shooting himself, he had locked the door of his chamber from inside, another source said. Kumar was sent back to his home cadre earlier this year after serving in the Intelligence Bureau as its joint director in New Delhi, the officer added.
He was in charge of the armed police and was given the responsibility of law and order on July 5. Chief Minister N Biren Singh said Kumar is an important officer and among the rare breed of bureaucrats.
“It is a very unfortunate incident. He was given the charge of law and order with the belief that it would be better under him,” he said. “The details of the incident are being ascertained and an official statement will be released as soon as they are available,” Singh added.
