Maharashtra ATS DCP commits suicide

Rourkela: Maharashtra State's Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Sanjay Banerjee (47), committed suicide by shooting himself in the head today afternoon. Banerjee's wife and two children along with several others witnessed him dying since he shot himself on a dinning table in the Goa Portuguesa restaurant in suburban Thane. 

His colleagues said he had some domestic problem and was disturbed for a couple of months. However, the reason for taking such an extreme step has not been established yet, said police.

"Banerjee had planned a lunch with his wife and children. He did not take his official vehicle and even asked the operator and driver to stay at home while he took a private car to reach to the hotel. They had ordered food and he was chatting with his family at around 3 pm. All of a sudden, he pulled out his service revolver and shot himself in the head. A bleeding Banerjee collapsed and fell on the ground. His children and wife cried, looking at him bleeding," police sources said. 

It is to be learnt that the hotel staff and other visitors, who witnessed the incident, got panicked and immediately rushed Banerjee to Thane Civil Hospital. However, he was declared dead on arrival. Police did not find any suicide note from his possession.

Notably, Banerjee joined the Maharashtra State Police in 1996 as Deputy Superintendent of Police. His first posting was in Nanded as Sub-divisional Police Officer (SDPO). On June 25, 2012 he was posted to ATS and would head the Data Analysis Wing of the counter-terror police agency. He played an important role in monitoring, recording and analyzing the mobile conversations of several suspects of the 13/7 Mumbai triple blasts.