In a tragic sequence of events on Tuesday, June 18, Home and Political Secretary of the Assam government Shiladitya Chetia died by suicide shortly after his wife, Agomoni Barbaruah, succumbed to cancer at a private hospital in Guwahati.
Shiladitya Chetia, a 44-year-old IPS officer from the 2009 batch, had been on leave for the past four months to care for his wife, who was suffering from stage 4 cancer. Agomoni was admitted to Guwahati's Nemcare Hospital, where she breathed her last on Tuesday. Sources at the hospital said a heartbroken Shiladitya requested the hospital staffers to allow him a few moments to pray for his wife's soul. As the staffers left him to pray, a gunshot was heard.
Hospital staffers rushed in to discover Chetia lying beside his wife's body. Chetia purportedly used his service weapon to shoot himself.
The incident occurred around 4:30 PM at the ICU of the hospital. Efforts to save Chetia went in vain.
Assam’s Director General of Police GP Singh expressed sorrow over his colleague's death. He posted on X: “In an unfortunate turn of events, Sri Shiladitya Chetia IPS 2009 RR. Secretary Home and Political Government of Assam, took his own life this evening, a few minutes after the attending physician declared the death of his wife who was battling cancer for a long time. The entire Assam Police family is in deep grief.”
The Assam Police, too, mourned his death. "We are deeply saddened by the tragic loss of Shri Shiladitya Chetia IPS 2009 RR, Secretary Home & Political, Government of Assam and his wife . The entire police family is in profound grief and shock," the Assam Police stated in an X post.
As per local media website Guwahati Plus, his body has been sent to Guwahati Medical College & Hospital (GMCH) for an autopsy.
The Indian Express quoted MD of Nemcare Hospital Hitesh Baruah as saying that Agomoni had been admitted nearly two months ago.
She had been battling cancer for about two years. She even underwent therapies in hopes of healing. She had been having conservative care at Nemcare for the past two months.
“Three days ago, we told him [Chetia] that her condition was deteriorating. The attending physician notified him of her death today [Tuesday] at 4.30 pm. He asked the nurse and doctor who were in the room with him to leave, stating that he wanted to pray. A loud noise came from the room around 10 minutes later," Baruah was quoted by The Indian Express.
Agomoni was also a budding author. She published a book of short stories titled "Her Him and Them - Inner Tales" in 2022.