Chandigarh IAS officer commits suicide

Chandigarh, Oct 21: Principal secretary, science and technology, A S Chhatwal one of Punjab's top IAS officers on Monday, Oct 20 committed suicide by hanging himself from a ceiling fan in his Chandigarh home. Chhatwal, a 1986 batch Punjab cadre officer, committed suicide in his Sector 39 official residence found by his wife and was brought to PGI hospital by her and the family's next-door neighbour Chandigarh finance secretary Sanjay Kumar.

Chandigarh SSP S S Srivastava told reporters a suicide note found at Chhatwal's house said the officer was depressed, probably because of family reasons. Doctors said Chhatwal was put on life support systems for a while before he died. Chhatwal had figured in Vigilance Bureau inquiries in the Ludhiana City Center scam involving former CM Amarinder Singh since the officer was the chief administrator of Punjab Urban Development Authority when the alleged irregularities took place.

Chatwal, who held an MBBS degree, is survived by his wife and daughter. Both of them are doctors by profession. Chatwal was credited with having organised the first ever NRI sammelan in Punjab in Dec and top industrialists were part of it. He was instrumental in bringing several proposals, including NRI police station and NRI fast track court, as he was NRI affairs commissioner as well.

OneIndia News