Cop commits suicide on duty at Presidency

Young constable was believed to be under stress; police do not suspect foul play.

ISLAMABAD:

A young police constable deployed as part of the security detail at the President House was found dead at his post on Friday night. The news of his death spread panic in the upper echelons of the police and a number of senior officers including the Inspector General of Police rushed to the President House.

Police said that the 25-year-old cop, Faisal Shehzad, committed suicide by shooting himself in the head with his official weapon, killing himself on the spot. The shift replacement for the night was the first to find the body around midnight. Police suspect he had been dead for a few hours when his body was found.

The body was turned over to his family after an autopsy was performed at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences.

A police official said Shehzad had been under stress for a few days. “He had already attempted suicide by trying to overdose on sleeping pills three or four days ago, but survived because he was at home and received help.”

There were conflicting reports about the source of mental stress that he was under. According to one official, he was facing financial problems; however, officials investigating the incident said, “A broken relationship was causing him stress.”

According to police, Shehzad was deployed at one of the watchtowers along the boundary wall of the President House. No one was nearby at the time he shot himself.

Police said Shehzad’s family had knowledge of his problems. However, no information regarding the earlier suicide attempt, or factors leading to his mental stress was formally passed on to the department, police claimed.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 21^st, 2011.