Cop shoots self in hospital after aged mother dies

A 54-year-old sub-inspector attached to the Kothrud police station shot himself in the head with his service revolver at a hospital, 15 minutes after hearing about his mother's death yesterday.

Bhanudas B Shinde, a resident of Kothrud, took the extreme step in a room at the cardiac care unit of the hospital after his mother Janabai (84), who was suffering from multiple ailments, had a cardiac arrest and died at the Ratna Memorial Hospital at 12.20 pm yesterday.

Tragedy at hospital: Commissioner of Police Meeran Borwankar at the Ratna Memorial Hospital, where PSI Bhanudas Shinde (inset) committed suicide by shooting himself in the head with his service revolver yesterday after learning of his mother's death at the hospital. Borwankar offered her condolences to the Shinde family

"Janabai was admitted to the hospital on May 20 as she was suffering from multiple ailments like diabetes, kidney failure and respiratory problems. As her condition was deteriorating, we told the family that they should call their relatives as her chances of survival were slim," said Dr V A Datar, administrator at Ratna Memorial Hospital.

He added that yesterday morning, she suffered a cardiac arrest and passed away at 12.05 pm. "At 12.20 pm, we heard a gunshot from a room next to the one where Janabai breathed her last. We rushed to the room and found Shinde in a pool of blood and a bullet injury on the right side of his head," said Datar.

The doctors rushed him to the operation theatre and tried to save his life, but he succumbed to the bullet injury. The Chatushringi police station was informed about the incident.

"Shinde was attached to the Kothrud police station as a sub-inspector with the detection branch and since May 20, he had gone on leave as her mother was admitted to the hospital," said D M Phadatare, DCP (Zone I).

Shinde is survived by his wife, two sons, two daughters and a brother, who is also a police constable at the Sahakarnagar police station.

Senior police officials, including Commissioner of Police Meeran Borwankar, Additional Commissioner of Police Anant Shinde and Deputy Commissioner of Police Rajesh Bansode, rushed to the hospital after hearing about the incident. u00a0