ATS DCP’s wife says he shot himself accidentally

Till now,the police had believed that Banerjee had committed suicide. They had said the DCP had consumed four shots of tequila and two mugs of beer before the incident.

When contacted,T P Lahane,dean of J J Hospital where the post mortem examination was conducted,said the wound was consistent with a self-inflicted injury.

According to police,Banerjee had also pulled out his pistol at home three days before the incident,when his wife was around. He was then counselled by friends. The police are verifying if there are any independent witnesses to the incident.

While senior officers are still to make an “informed assessment” on the statements given by Banerjee’s family members,a preliminary probe has indicated that he was not under “stress” due to work or any pending salary,but due to some “personal” problems. Banerjee’s family,however,has maintained there were no personal problems,said Raghuvanshi.

Inquiries with the staff at the restaurant where Banerjee died revealed that his behaviour was inconsistent with that of someone contemplating suicide.

“Banerjee chatted with the waiter while he was serving the family. They talked about several things after which Banerjee took the waiter’s number,telling him he would call him if he needed to reserve a table in the future,” said an officer with the Kapurbavdi police.

“We went through Banerjee’s call data records to check if he received a call or text message during the meal that could have triggered the suicide. The only call during the entire duration was a missed call he made to the waiter’s cellphone so that the waiter could save his number. There were no text messages either,” said DCP Balasaheb Patil,Zone 5 (Thane).

Meanwhile,there has been no formal review yet on the incident. “Senior officials are expected to guide the junior ranks on matters like these when stress is connected to work. Natural access to firearms leads to such incidents,especially when there are internal contradictions. We understand this is a serious issue,but counselling is expected for junior ranks by officers of these ranks,” said Sanjeev Dayal,Maharashtra DGP.