Former Delhi chief secretary Rakesh Mehta dies by suicide
What's the story
Former Delhi Chief Secretary Rakesh Mehta has died by suicide at his home in Noida. The retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the 1975 batch was found dead at his Noida residence on September 6, with officials recovering a note from the scene. In the note, he allegedly cited health and mental issues for his decision. The 74-year-old bureaucrat was discovered hanging from a ceiling fan in his apartment at Kendriya Vihar-2 Society, Sector 82, according to reports.
Investigation progress
Police received call about incident through Dial-112
The police received a call about the incident through Dial-112 and rushed to the spot. They had to break open the door of Mehta's flat, as it was locked from inside.
A forensic team has collected evidence from the scene for further investigation.
At the time of his death, Mehta's wife Sumanti was in Dehradun visiting their son. She became concerned after she could not reach him repeatedly.
Career highlights
Mehta's career in brief
Mehta was Delhi's chief secretary from 2007 till his retirement in November 2010 under former Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit.
He helped steer some of the city's major civic, transport and power-sector reforms and headed the administration during the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
He also served as commissioner of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi and held several key positions in the Delhi government throughout his career.
Credits
Mehta's role in major civic reforms
Former Delhi chief secretary Ramesh Negi, who worked with Mehta, said his former colleague introduced the unit area method for calculating property tax, a reform that helped reduce corruption.
He also helped prepare a plan to phase out Blueline buses and introduce low-floor buses. His efforts were especially important during his tenure as Principal Secretary (Transport), when around 2,500 low-floor buses were added to Delhi's fleet.
Officers
'He was above bureaucratic lethargy'
"He was above bureaucratic lethargy and was never hesitant in...executing new projects and ideas," Negi said.
Retired IAS officer JK Dadoo recalled Mehta's efficiency, saying, "He would complete a meeting & 3-4 hours later his dictated signed minutes would be on your table, astonishing! Unparalleled in government."
Dadoo credited Mehta with setting up the Air Ambience Fund, which has grown to a corpus of around ₹500 crore. The fund receives 25 paise from every liter of diesel sold in Delhi.