By IANS,
Mohali : An excise and taxation officer, who was arrested last month for accepting a bribe, committed suicide by consuming poison at his house here, police said Sunday.
The official, Ranjit Singh, 50, was released on bail April 20 and was said to be depressed.
“Singh locked himself in the bathroom and consumed some poisonous substance on Friday night. He was immediately taken to PGIMER (Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research) in Chandigarh where he died. He has not left any suicide note,” said a police officer.
“He was arrested by Punjab vigilance for taking a bribe of over Rs. 2.5 lakh from a trader,” he added.
In the meantime, there was resentment among deceased’s colleagues and they demanded a probe into the incident.
“We suspect that Ranjit was implicated in a false case. He was humiliated in public and was badly thrashed by the vigilance officials. We demand an independent probe into this entire incident by an IAS-ranked official,” said Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, president of the Punjab excise and taxation officers’ association.