Ashwani Kumar, a former Director of the CBI and former Governor of Nagaland and Manipur, was found dead at his residence in Shimla late on October 7. Ashwani Kumar was 69-years-old. According to Shimla Superintendent of Police Mohit Chawla, who was quoted by news agency ANI, Kumar died by suicide, was found hanging at his residence. Reportedly, Ashwani Kumar had been depressed for some time. The police have recovered a suicide note which is being verified with the family. Over the course of a career spanning 37 years, Kumar, a retired IPS officer from the Himachal Pradesh cadre, served as DGP for the state between 2006 & 2008 before being appointed Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for a two-year period. He was the first police officer from the state to head the investigative agency. Kumar was in charge of the central agency while it investigated the infamous Aarushi Talwar murder case. Kumar also served as Governor of Nagaland between 2013 and 2014; in that period he was briefly also Governor of Manipur. Ashwani Kumar is survived by his wife and son.
