Himanshu Roy, former Maharashtra ATS chief, commits suicide in a Battle with Cancer

[Kool_SRG]

    

HIGHLIGHTS

• Himanshu Roy shot himself with his service revolver at his Malabar Hills residence in Mumbai.
• Roy was suffering from cancer for over two years; the senior officer put the gun in his mouth and pulled the trigger.

Ex-ATS Chief Pulled Trigger In Bedroom

 

[email protected]

Mumbai:

One of Mumbai police force’s most decorated officers, Himanshu Roy (54), ended his life on Friday after a long battle with cancer.

 

Roy, who helmed several crucial investigations before going on medical leave in 2016, shot himself in the mouth with a licensed private revolver at his residence near Nariman Point.

“His family was preparing to have lunch. Roy was in the bedroom while his wife, Bhawna, was in another room when he shot himself,” an officer said.

Roy was rushed to Bombay Hospital in a car by his wife and their domestic staff, where he was declared dead. A signed suicide note has been found in which Roy admitted to being in a depressed frame of mind due to his illness and wanted no one held responsible for his action. Roy, whose battle with cancer began in the early 2000s, was confined to his house over the last few months.

His final rites were conducted at Chandanwadi crematorium with state honours.

The 1988 batch IPS officer was one of the force’s most visible faces in the city. A fitness freak, he stood out for his physique. His other passion was Hindustani classical music which he helped promote by organising concerts at his alma mater, St Xavier’s College. In 2009, he was promoted as additional commissioner for south Mumbai, a post that marked the beginning of a phase during which he was entrusted with several sensitive cases. Ex-Mumbai top cop M N Singh said relentless job pressure had taken a toll on him.

4 days ago, Roy had encouraging results

Himanshu Roy’s doctors are taken aback by his suicide since merely four days ago, they had told Roy he could take a break from the chemotherapy and targeted therapy sessions as his PET scans were looking “very positive”, reports Sumitra Deb Roy. “I told him we had a chance to defeat the disease,” said oncologist Dr Anantbhushan Ranade, treating Roy since 2016. Roy’s battle with renal cancer began in 2000, but after a radical nephrectomy he had become cancer-free till it came back in 2016. 

 

[Kool_SRG]

What ails the force? Roy’s death puts focus

 

 

Himanshu Roy, battling cancer, was confined to his home for the last few months. At 1.40pm on Friday, he was brought with a bullet wound to the casualty ward of Bombay Hospital.“He was lifeless. There was no pulse or BP,” said Dr Gautam Bhansali. Doctors could see a bullet wound on Roy’s head and blood on the back of his neck.

The police brass gathered at the hospital within an hour of the incident. “It’s a great loss. He was an energetic officer who was loved by his staff,” said former DGP Arup Patnaik. Roy’s first posting (1991-95) was as additional SP in Malegaon (Nashik) and he came into the limelight in 1994 (see graphic).

 

In Mumbai, his most successful stint was as crime branch chief from 2010 to 2014. He was credited with setting up a cybercrime cell and overseeing the probe into the murder of a shipping agent, Chand Madar, and the arrest of diesel smuggler Mohd Ali Shaikh. A chartered accountant by training, Roy was also noticed for his handling of economic offences.

It was Roy under whose leadership the crime branch arrested the accused in the Shakti Mill gangrape case in which five youths brutalised a young female photo journalist. Roy’s team also busted the IPL betting case and arrested over a dozen accused including Gurunath Meiyappan, son-in-law of cricket board president N Srinivasan, actor Vindoo Dara Singh and others. In 2014, he and then ATS chief Rakesh Maria became the first police officers in Mumbai to be given Z+ security.

He is also credited with the arrest of Anees Ansari who allegedly conspired to blow up the American school in BKC.

Governor Vidyasagar Rao, said, “Himanshu Roy was a dedicated police officer” known for “remarkable investigation skills.” “His demise is a great loss for the state police force.”

Roy’s post mortem was videographed and body handed over to the family at 8.30 pm. “Death due to bullet injury to brain,” the post-mortem report said. All organs were preserved for histopathology and chemical analysis.

The Marine Drive police have registered a case of accidental death and seized the weapon used by Roy. A team of forensic experts from Kalina lab also visited the building in which he lived, Suniti Apartment near Nariman Point, and collected samples.

Roy is survived by his wife Bhawna, a former IAS officer who quit the service for social work.

[Kool_SRG]

[Kool_SRG]

He stood a good chance to defeat cancer, docs told him 4 days ago

 

 

I cannot fathom why he took the extreme step after taking on the disease for 18 years,” said Pune-based medical oncologist Dr Anantbhushan Ranade on hearing of Himanshu Roy’s suicide. He had been treating the officer for two years. On Friday, it was not just Roy’s family, but also his team of doctors who were left shell-shocked by Roy’s final action. Merely four days ago, they had told him he could take a break from chemotherapy and targeted therapy sessions that he had been undergoing since the cancer relapsed two years ago.

“On Monday afternoon, I told him his PET scan reports looked positive. I told him the therapies were working and we had a chance to defeat the disease. In fact, this Monday’s report was even better than the month-old report that he was showing progress. The cancer was not gone but it was under control. I had told him he would be taken off treatment for a while,” Dr Ranade told TOI. “I have not seen a bigger fighter than him,” said the doctor.

 

Roy was struck by the disease in 2000, when he was detected with renal cancer. After a radical nephrectomy, he went on to live a normal life with only one kidney. His colleagues recall how he went on to crack some of the biggest cases despite this. The disease returned in 2016 and spread in his body.

Roy went to Portugal last year to undergo radiotherapy that he believed would have a good outcome. A therapy plan was prepared at Nashik’s HCG Manavta Centre. He received treatment in Pune and Mumbai. “He fought the disease in every possible manner. He even went to the gym on Thursday,” said Dr Ranade. “At no point was there a hint of depression in Roy’s voice or demeanor. He was perhaps tired of the treatment, but he never uttered that once.”

The numbers suggest that Roy's case is not as uncommon. At least 62 people in the country take their lives every day, while not being able to cope with a terminal or chronic ailment. As per 2015 statistics from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), illness drove over 22,000 people to suicide, the second commonest cause after family problems.

“There is a need in cancer patients to be screened for anxiety and depression. Particularly, when an individual has lived a long period after diagnosis and the disease comes back. It can be immensely traumatic and therefore psychological help should be provided,” said Dr Mary Ann Muckaden, head of the department of palliative medicine, Tata Memorial Hospital.

Dr Raj Nagarkar, medical director of Roy’s Nashik hospital, said that like all 140 of his patients under the ‘difficult cancer cases’ branch, Roy too was undergoing counselling.

[Kool_SRG]

‘Death shows how stressed they are’

 

 

Mumbai:

Himanshu Roy’s unexpected end evoked reactions of shock and sympathy from retired officers and contemporaries in the force, but the one sentiment that stood out was concern regarding the strain under which police officers functioned.

 

Former police commissioner M N Singh, who visited Roy’s family to offer condolences, spoke of the adverse conditions in which policemen worked.

“Roy worked under tremendous pressure. He held posts which demanded utmost commitment and he lived up to the challenges. He was DCP (Zone I) when I was police commissioner. Thereafter, he became ATS chief which is also a very challenging job,” Singh said, indicating that the persistent demands of the job affected Roy’s health.

The former top cop emphasised on the point that policemen constantly followed a routine fraught with conflicts and tensions that often take a toll. “They become depressed as they don’t get sufficient leave,” Singh said. Roy’s death at his own hands using a service revolver should prompt government to “think about it,” he said.

Most retired officers who were senior to Roy recalled him as a “bright officer” who never flinched in the face of duty and faced up to every challenge. Former commissioner A N Roy said, “I met him after I heard that he was suffering from cancer. I would often call him and try to encourage him to fight the disease by citing some examples where people had won the battle against cancer. As a colleague, I feel sad that such a brilliant officer took the extreme step. We will miss him,” he said.

Arup Patnaik, who retired as director-general of police, said Roy’s fitness levels were remarkable, but the disease he was battling was at an advanced stage “and he couldn't take it anymore. That’s my hunch.”

Ex-DGP Arvind Inamdar said he would often call him ‘Mr IPS’ for his physique. He said he knew that Roy was suffering from cancer and was under the care of the same doctor who treated his wife. “My wife couldn’t survive but I had hoped that Roy would fight and win. That didn’t happen,” said Inamdar.

 

[Kool_SRG]

[Kool_SRG]

HIMANSHU ROY SUICIDE: FORMER CP ARUP PATNAIK ON WHY ROY'S DEATH HAS LEFT HIM IN DISBELIEF

 

By Arup Patnaik

I heard in disbelief on Friday afternoon that Himanshu Roy had shot himself dead. I know he was fighting a painful battle against cancer. After my retirement from the police department, I launched an NGO for cancer patients and I have seen first-hand what they undergo. But I was, and I remain, in disbelief that Himanshu took his life because he was made of a different mettle.

Himanshu and I became teammates after I took over as Mumbai’s police commissioner in 2011. He served as the joint commissioner of police, crime, from 2012 to 2014. Of course, I knew him from the time he was the deputy commissioner of police, Zone I, but our daily interactions started after I became the police commissioner and he took over as in-charge of the Crime Branch. I spoke to him every day and found him to be a bright, coolheaded, and polished person. He was a policeman par excellence.
 

 

While Himanshu has cracked countless cases due to his watertight investigation (See Story: ‘Accused in case Roy supervised get lifer the day he ends life’), I’d like to mention the way he investigated the murder of journalist J Dey, and the Pallavi Purkayastha murder case. In both instances, there was tremendous pressure on the government and the police department. In Dey’s case, the then chief minister had issued instructions that he wanted an update on the investigations every six hours. Today when Himanshu is no more, I can recall the smile on his face when he arrived at my house, suggesting I brief the media that the Dey murder case had been cracked.



What made Himanshu such a good investigative officer? An eye for detail to begin with, and his ability to see through bluff. Not many know that Himanshu worked for a top chartered accountancy firm before he appeared for the UPSC exam. A 1988-batch IPS officer, he trained with the 1989 batch and emerged a topper.
 

 

Himanshu took up several challenges in his illustrious career. He was in-charge of the Economic Offences Wing, he served as the police commissioner in Nashik, and as the head of the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad.

Himanshu’s grit – and that’s why I find it hard to believe he killed himself – was such that he found it necessary to proceed on leave because of cancer only two years ago, although he was diagnosed with the disease a year earlier. The cancer had spread to his bones but that didn’t stop him from exercising.

Three months ago, he had asked me for a reference to get an expert opinion. Himanshu was giving a huge fight to cancer but at the end of the day, there’s only so much a person can do. I guess Himanshu’s grit gave up.



What are my memories of Himanshu? A Colaba boy, a fitness freak and an athlete. Many people assumed Himanshu was a Bengali because of ‘Roy’ in his name. His family, however, hailed from Gujarat and his father was a well-known doctor practicing in south Mumbai. I wanted Himanshu as the brand ambassador for my NGO, but fate had other things in store for us.

Arup Patnaik was Mumbai’s police commissioner from 2011 to 2012
 

 

 

[Kool_SRG]

Emanna Fit ga unnadu eeyana...Paapam had cancer problem

[buffaloboy]

In one of the photos he looks like old hero Arjun 

[Kool_SRG]

5 minutes ago, buffaloboy said:

In one of the photos he looks like old hero Arjun 

Super Fit guy this Officer but sad