Former Delhi Chief Secretary and retired IAS officer Rakesh Mehta committed suicide on September 6 at his residence in Noida. Mehta, IAS Officer of the 1975 batch, died at the age of 74 years. From the note recovered from the spot, it came to light that health and mental state of mind were two causes which lead to this act and nobody should be blamed for this.
Rakesh Mehta was found dead at his rented house in Kendriya Vihar-2 society in Sector 82 of Noida. According to the report submitted by police, his family was anxious about him since he was not reachable on telephone. At that time his wife, who is also retired IAS officer, was in Dehradun. They reported it to the security guard of the residential colony.
Forensic department along with police team visited the place and collected evidences. After conducting post mortem on his body it was handed over to his family members. He was cremated at Lodhi Road Crematorium. Further probe into the case is on.
According to news sources, Mehta was suffering from many health complications, such as hypertension and diabetes. It has also been claimed that in the past, he had faced some health issues. The letter found at his house mentioned his long-standing illness but made no mention of any one being responsible for his demise.
Mehta had an extensive administrative career which lasted over three decades. He worked as the Chief Secretary of Delhi from 2007 till his retirement in November 2010, under the former Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit. During his term, arrangements were being made and preparations were going on for the 2010 Commonwealth Games in the capital city.
He was associated with a number of significant projects during his career in the Delhi administration and had also worked as Commissioner of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi. He had a hand in many civic, transport, and power sector projects.
The demise of the former bureaucrat has brought into focus the longtime service of the man in the administration of Delhi. The police have been conducting their investigations into the cause of the death of the man in light of the contents of the note and other forensics.
