His wife was in the fourth stage of carcinoma and was under treatment.
A senior official in the Assam Government allegedly died by suicide at a hospital in Guwahati after his wife died following a prolonged illness, the police said.
Siladitya Chetia was the Home Secretary in the Assam Government. The 2009-batch officer from the Indian Police Service (IPS) allegedly shot himself dead with his service gun inside the ICU where his wife died.
His wife was in the fourth stage of carcinoma and was under treatment at a private hospital in the city for the last several days. The officer was on leave for the last four months because of his wife's illness.
"His wife was undergoing treatment for cancer and her condition was deteriorating, Mr Chetia was briefed about it, but this evening his wife died," Hitesh Baruah, Director of Nemcare Hospital said.
"He reached the hospital and told the attending doctor and nurse to leave him with his wife's body alone for a few moments, he wanted to offer prayers. Suddenly they heard gunshots and they rushed back to see that he had shot himself, we tried to save his life but he succumbed to his injuries," he added.
Chetia served as the Superintendant of Police (SP) of Tinsukia and Sonitpur districts of Assam. He also served as the Commandant of the 4th Battalion of the Assam Police before being posted as the Home Secretary.
The Director General of Assam Police, GP Singh, said "In an unfortunate turn of events, Sri Shiladitya Chetia IPS 2009 RR, Secretary Home & Political Government of Assam, took his own life this evening, a few minutes after the attending physician declared the death of his wife who was battling cancer for a long time."
"The entire Assam Police family is in deep grief," he said in a post on X.
"Shiladitya Chetia was mentally down due to his wife's ill health for the last few days and the unfortunate incident happened today. He was staying at the hospital and looking after his wife," a police official told news agency IANS.
Several senior police officers rushed to the hospital after the information broke out.
- With Inputs from IANS, PTI