A senior Indian Forest Service officer allotted to Andhra Pradesh cadre was found dead in his apartment complex in Nagole on Thursday.
V Bhaskara Ramana Murthy (59) committed suicide by jumping from the ninth floor of his apartment in the wee hours, police said.
The 1987 batch IFS officer had been working as Principal Chief Conservator of Forests for Coastal Zone Management from Aranya Bhavan in Guntur.
Ramana Murthy, who is survived by wife and two daughters, had taken leave from work in the third week of July for personal reasons, inspector V Ashok Reddy said. He was set to retire from service in August next year.
After having dinner with his wife and daughter Manvitha, he went to bed around 9.30 p.m on Wednesday.
"Around 1.30 a.m. on Thursday, security guard Appa Rao heard a sound near ‘A’ block and went to check. He found Ramana Murthy lying in a pool of blood and alerted his wife V Jyothi," Mr. Reddy said.
The reason for his extreme step was yet to be known, the inspector said. A case under Section 174 CrPC (suspicious death) was registered.
Ms. Jyothi’s brother Prabhakar said there were no family or financial issues. “I don’t know about issues at work. He never discussed them with us,” he said.
He said they performed ‘Muhurtham puja’ for his younger daughter’s wedding on Wednesday.
“Though we were not in regular touch since the State bifurcation, he called me a couple of times for official work. Ramana was a jovial person and never hurt anyone even unintentionally,” a senior IFS officer said.
(There is always someone to listen at: +914066202000 or 6666 1117 in case of any emotional breakdowns at this Hyderabad-based suicide intervention centre Roshni)
