Guwahati: Shiladitya Chetia, a 44-year-old IPS officer and Assam’s home and political secretary, tragically shot himself in the head with his service weapon at a private hospital in Guwahati on Tuesday. This happened just minutes after the death of his wife, Agamoni Barbaruah, 40, who succumbed to cancer.
Chetia’s wife died at 4:25 pm in the ICU of Nemcare Hospital. Chetia entered her ICU cabin about 10 minutes later, requesting privacy to pray beside her body. Shortly after, a gunshot was heard. Hospital staff found Chetia lying next to his wife’s body. Despite their efforts, they could not save him.
“We rushed in and found him lying beside his wife’s body. We tried to save him but couldn’t. He had shot himself in the head,” said Nemcare’s managing director, Hitesh Baruah.
Agamoni had been battling cancer for around two years and had been receiving treatment at Nemcare Hospital for the past two months. “She had been battling for around two years and had received treatment elsewhere as well. For the last two months, she had been receiving conservative treatment here and he had taken up a separate room in the hospital,” Dr. Baruah told The Indian Express.
The couple, married on May 12, 2013, did not have any children. Agamoni was a top student at Tezpur University, where she studied English and foreign languages.
We are deeply saddened by the tragic loss of Shri Shiladitya Chetia IPS 2009 RR, Secretary Home & Political, Government of Assam and his wife .
The entire police family is in profound grief and shock.
Shri Chetia’s unwavering dedication to Assam will always be cherished. pic.twitter.com/Ba9FlQGIxR
— Assam Police (@assampolice) June 18, 2024
Chetia, whose father was also a police officer, served as superintendent of police in Tinsukia, Nalbari, Kokrajhar, and Barpeta districts. Known for his bravery, he led many operations against criminal and terror outfits, earning the President’s Police Medal for Gallantry on Independence Day in 2015.
Former Assam Police DGP Bhaskarjyoti Mahanta, now the state’s chief information commissioner, remarked that Chetia had endured a series of unfortunate events recently, with his wife’s death being the most painful. Announcing Chetia’s death, current DGP G P Singh posted on X: “In an unfortunate turn of events, Sri Shiladitya Chetia, IPS 2009, secretary home and political, 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. Entire Assam Police family is in deep grief.”
