Former IAF sergeant shots himself in Hyderabad

Hyderabad: In an unfortunate incident, a former Indian Air Force (IAF) sergeant, currently a practising advocate allegedly shot himself at his residence in Baghlingampally on Friday.

The man identified as T Shiva Reddy (44), a native of Kadapa district of Andhra Pradesh, was retired sergeant, a non-commissioned officer from the IAF and was an advocate. A divorcee, he was staying alone in an apartment here.

Police informed Shiva Reddy was upset over family problems for the last few days. He returned from his native place to Hyderabad in the morning and was last seen by neighbours around breakfast time.

He is suspected to have latched the door from inside and allegedly shot himself with his licensed pistol in his head in the bedroom around noon.

"He shot himself in the head, with the bullet having entry and exit points on the skull. He died on the spot," the police said, adding that the incident came to light when his sister Maheshwari grew suspicious when he was not answering phone calls.

She informed her friend in Kavadiguda, who reached the spot and with the help of the watchman, forcibly opened the main door and found him lying dead on the bed. They tried to shift him to hospital, but it was too late. They then alerted the Chikkadpally police, who recovered the firearm from the spot and sent it to the Forensic Science Laboratory while a CLUES team Fingerprint team also collected samples.

No suicide note was found at the spot and enquiries with relatives and colleagues indicated Shiva Reddy was upset over issues in his personal life, officials said, adding that all possible angles were being probed.

The body was shifted to the Gandhi Hospital morgue for autopsy.