Former CBI chief Ashwani Kumar dies by suicide in Shimla: TV reports

Ashwani Kumar, a former chief of the Central Bureau of Investigation, died by suicide at his home in Shimla on Wednesday, TV news channels reported quoting the police.

Kumar, 69, suffered from depression, NDTV reported. Shimla Superintendent of Police Mohit Chawla said he had been depressed for several weeks, according News agency ANI. The police recovered a note in which Kumar reportedly said he felt overwhelmed by life, according to NDTV.

A retired IPS officer from the Himachal Pradesh cadre, Kumar served as DGP for the state between 2006 and 2008 before being appointed director of the CBI for a two-year period. He also served as Governor of Nagaland between 2013 and 2014; in that period he was briefly also Governor of Manipur.

The Indian Express reports Kumar was the CBI director when the central agency investigated the murder of Noida teenager Aarushi Talwar in 2008. Kumar rejected the investigation headed by then CBI joint director Arun Kumar, who absolved Aarushi’s parents Rajesh and Nupur Talwar. The Talwars were given a life sentence in 2013 but were acquitted by the Allahabad High Court in 2017.