Who was Himanshu Roy: Seven lesser known facts about former Maharashtra ATS chief

Himanshu Roy, former Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) chief, allegedly committed suicide by shooting himself with his service revolver at his residence on Friday.

Himanshu Roy, former Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) chief, allegedly committed suicide by shooting himself with his service revolver at his residence on Friday. Photo: PTI

NEW DELHI: Himanshu Roy, former Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) chief, allegedly committed suicide by shooting himself with his service revolver at his residence on Friday.

• Himanshu was a 1988-batch Indian Police Service officer. He was suffering from cancer and would have been 55 next month.
• He was considered a fitness enthusiast and had been on leave since 2016, undergoing treatment for cancer.
• Himanshu had served at several top posts of the Maharashtra Police, including as chief of the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) and in the Crime Branch.
• He had solved several sensational cases, including the murders of journalist J Dey, fringe Bollywood actor Laila Khan and law graduate Pallavi Purkhayasta in Mumbai.
• He was also part of the team which pursued leads related to American-born Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist David Headley, who was involved in carrying out a recce mission ahead of the 26/11 terror strike.
• The officer is credited with leading the investigation into the IPL betting scandal. He was also responsible for the arrest of Vindu Dara Singh for alleged links to bookies in spot-fixing.
• During his tenure as the ATS chief, software engineer Anees Ansari was arrested for allegedly planning to blow up the American school at the Bandra Kurla complex.

Former Mumbai police commissioner M N Singh termed him a courageous and hardworking officer. "He was suffering from cancer but he was fighting it. It is very unfortunate that he had to end his life like this," Singh was quoted by PTI as saying.