Maharashtra IPS officer and ex-ATS chief Himanshu Roy commits suicide

The 1988-batch Indian Police Service officer, who was suffering from cancer, would have been 55 next month.

Roy, the additional director general of police (Establishment), allegedly shot himself with his service revolver and was rushed to Bombay Hospital where he was declared dead, an official said.

Roy was considered a fitness enthusiast and had been on leave since 2016, undergoing treatment for cancer.

The officer had served in elite groups of the Maharashtra Police, including as chief of the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) and in the Crime Branch.

Roy is credited with being involved in the solving of a string of prominent cases, including the murders of journalist J Dey, fringe Bollywood actor Laila Khan and law graduate Pallavi Purkhayasta in Mumbai.

He was also part of the team which pursued leads related to American-born Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist David Headley, who was involved in carrying out a recce mission ahead of the 26/11 terror strike.

Roy, who was joint commissioner of police (Crime) from 2012-2014, is credited with leading the investigation into the IPL betting scandal.

He was then transferred to the state ATS. During his tenure as the agency's chief, software engineer Anees Ansari was arrested for allegedly planning to blow up the American school at the Bandra Kurla complex.

Former Mumbai police commissioner M N Singh termed him a courageous and hardworking officer.

"He was suffering from cancer but he was fighting it. It is very unfortunate that he had to end his life like this," Singh told reporters after visiting Roy's family to express his condolences.

Senior IPS officers, who underwent training along with Himanshu Roy, called him a bold officer and a genuine man. “He used to call me partner. We were squad mates. An intelligent and ambitious officer, Roy could have become the commissioner of police, Mumbai,” noted ADGP Shakeel Akhter, ADGP, armed police HQ, Chennai, Roy’s batchmate. 

“We used to interact regularly. In January, when I went to Mumbai I wanted to meet him. But he was busy with treatment,” he recalled. His team of officers had arrested a couple of high profile city businessmen during the IPL betting probe in 2013 and had taken them to Mumbai. “Himanshu belonged to the 1988 batch. But he trained with us, the 1989 batch,” recalled ADGP (administration) P Kandasamy, who termed Himanshu as a reserved person. He had married TN cadre IAS officer Bhawana, who resigned from service after marriage. The couple had no children.