IPS officer may have committed suicide, say TN cops

 A day after the mysterious death of IPS officer N Harish at Egmore in Chennai, the Tamil Nadu police on Friday did not rule out a suicide.

“A team of three doctors conducted the postmortem in the afternoon. The entire procedure has been videographed. We are waiting for the report,” said a senior police officer investigating the case.

The officer said the autopsy report would be submitted in the next couple of days. The investigating team is looking at all angles, including suicide.

According to him, the preliminary report indicated Harish, a 2009-batch IPS officer and native of Karnataka posted in Tamil Nadu, might have consumed excessive alcohol before his death.

Police intelligence sources said the investigating team, which recovered a few anti-depressant pill covers in Harish’s room, said he might have taken the tablets along with liquor.

However, Harish’s father N Nagaraj, who spoke to the media here, said his son most likely died of a heart attack.

“He is a brave person and there’s no way he could have committed suicide,” he said.
The 32-year-old Harish was found dead in his room at the Police Officers Mess in the city on Thursday. His body was sent to the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital for a postmortem.

A shocked Nagaraj said his son, who used to keep in regular touch with the family, did not complain about any pressure from his senior officers. “He was busy, engaged in shopping and other work related to his marriage,” Nagaraj said.

Though Harish’s family members have not lodged a police complaint, they have urged the Tamil Nadu government to conduct a thorough investigation into the cause of his death.