JOIN USThe HAL director had collapsed three weeks ago at the only board meeting he attended, as reported by Deccan Herald on Wednesday. He had also collapsed once in his office. Sources close to him said: “Something was on his mind. He was not himself.”
They said Singh did not even attend the Air Force Day celebrations on October 8, something he took pride in attending all these years. The sources sought a detailed probe into the matter, stating Singh was not the kind of person who would “kill himself.”
Speaking to Deccan Herald, Air Marshal (retd) B K Pandey said: “This is not a typical open and shut case. The police need to first rule out everything else, before they conclude it is a suicide. There needs to be a thorough probe.”
Even if depression were to be the reason for him to commit suicide, “we want the police to find the causal effect. We want to know the reason for his depression, because we know it is not his wife’s ailment, about which a rumour is doing rounds,” sources said.
Nothing conclusive
The Chikkaballapur Rural police, with whom the case is registered, said the investigation was in progress and that nothing conclusive had been found.
Sub-Inspector Aiyappa Reddy said: “We will be coming to Bangalore on Thursday. We will talk to the family members and also question people from HAL.”
One of Singh’s son, Mohit, who lives in Singapore had arrived early on Wednesday. The family is expecting Nimit, who left the US on Wednesday. Cremation has planned on Thursday. Reddy said the police had seized Singh’s mobile phone and had sought call and message details from the service provider. “We will be equipped with that information before we reach Bangalore,” he added.
Singh’s body has been kept in the HAL hospital mortuary and will be received by the family on Thursday.
Venkatesh, the guard in-charge of the mortuary, said: “The body came here at 9.15 pm or 9.30 pm on Tuesday and we were told it will be taken on Thursday.” Several HAL employees, including several top officials of the defence PSU, paid their last respect to Singh. There was no confirmation if Chairman Ashok Nayak paid a visit.
‘Singh had sought director’s post’
Contrary to several reports that Singh was unhappy because he had to give up flying to take up his post as director, the post, sources close to Singh and concerned authorities said, was sought by him.
“Unlike the posts of General Manager or those above that, a Director’s post is not based on selection. It requires the interested candidates to apply for the post and one of them will be picked. So if he did not want it, why did he apply,” a source close to Singh questioned.
Moreover, there were no restrictions on Singh to fly.