Dhanna Singh was suffering from severe depression owing to the death of his only son four years ago

A 65-year-old retired squadron leader with the Indian Air Force allegedly shot at himself with his revolver at his Sector-34 residence on Tuesday morning. Dhanna Singh, who retired from the air force 10 years ago, was rushed to the Government Medical College and Hospital in Sector32 from where he was referred to the PGI. His condition is stated to be critical.

Singh has been booked by the police for attempt to suicide under Section 309 of the IPC. The police seized a .32 bore revolver manufactured by Ordinance Factory Kanpur along with one empty and five live cartridges from the spot. No suicide note has been recovered.

Police said Singh was suffering from severe depression owing to the death of his only son four years ago. His son Raghujeet Singh, in his twenties, had committed suicide by jumping in front of a train in Ludhiana after a marital dispute.

Singh’s wife Harbans Kaur, who runs a crèche at their residence, told the police that after preparing breakfast for himself, he complained of stomach pain and went to his room. After a while, she heard a gunshot, which she presumed to be a firecracker. “When I went to his room, I found him lying on the floor and bleeding from the neck. I raised an alarm then,” she told the police.

Kaur added that there was very little interaction between them and her husband remained confined to himself most of the time. They were apparently not on good terms and he would cook and wash his clothes himself. She also expressed ignorance of the fact that her husband owned a revolver.

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