Delhi: IRS Officer Commits Suicide By Consuming Poison Over Fear Of Contracting COVID-19

In an unfortunate incident, a middle-aged Indian Revenue Service officer allegedly committed suicide on June 14 by consuming poison. The body was found in his car in Delhi's Dwarka locality.

The victim, Shivraj Singh was posted as an additional commissioner of income tax in the Directorate of Income Tax and had been keeping unwell for some time. Singh had been promoted to the IRS early in his career and had been planning to seek voluntary retirement from service as per a statement by an IRS officer in a report to The Print.

The officer had been undergoing mental stress due to his fear of contracting COVID-19. The IRS had tested negative for COVID-19 but he was scared that his family might get infected

A suicide note left behind by the victim in his car confirmed his fears where he admitted that he had taken his life in fear of infecting his family."He was a calm and composed officer… Would often talk about meditation, and even gave a few lectures on it, so don't know what happened," said an officer told The Print.

The incident was reported at Dwarka district which received a PCR call about a man found lying unconscious in a car, police said. He was taken to a nearby hospital where he was declared brought dead, police said.

The past month another 1988-batch IRS officer, Keshav Saxena committed suicide by hanging himself from the ceiling fan at his residence in Delhi's Chanakyapuri. Saxena was posted as principal commissioner in the I-T department. His body was found in his room by his wife, and a suicide note was recovered.

The two consecutive deaths of IRS officers have left the cadre distressed. Many are thinking of starting online mental health sessions to reach out to those suffering any form of mental stress or breakdown.

Shivraj's body has been sent for postmortem. An investigation into the cause of his death is still underway.

Also Read: 63-Year-Old COVID Patient Hangs Himself To Death In Delhi Hospital