CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president K Annamalai on Friday urged the State government to investigate the suicide of Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) C Vijayakumar and take steps to reduce the workload of the police personnel.

"I was shocked and saddened to hear the news that Coimbatore DIG C Vijaya Kumar has committed suicide by shooting himself. My deepest condolences to his bereaved family members and friends," Annamalai said in a tweet.

Further, the retired IPS turned-politician questioned what happened to the report of the Commission headed by retired Justice CT Selvam. "What steps have been taken to fill up more than 10,000 vacancies in the police department to reduce the workload of the police personnel? The suicide of a top police officer cannot be taken lightly. The State government should forward a serious investigation and find out the reasons behind the suicide," he added.

Earlier in the day, the Coimbatore range DIG C Vijayakumar allegedly grabbed his gunman's pistol, and shot himself to death at his camp office in Coimbatore.