VISAKHAPATNAM: A senior police officer was found dead in suspicious circumstances at his residence here on Friday. Preliminary reports reveal that
PV Krishna Varma
, a deputy superintendent of police (DSP) attached to the special branch (SB), allegedly committed suicide.
However, pending investigation the police registered a case of death under suspicious circumstances based on a complaint lodged by his family members. Varma was 52 and is survived by his wife and two sons.
Varma joined the police force in 1991 as a sub-inspector and rose up the ranks to become ACP (traffic) before joining as special branch DSP. He was reportedly suffering from a lung disease for the past few years and was on leave for nearly two-and-a-half months.
"He was a good police officer and a noble human being. We came to know he was suffering from interstitial pulmonary fibrosis. We have lost a good officer," Srikakulam SP Ammireddy told TOI.
Pulmonary fibrosis is a lung disease that occurs when lung tissues become damaged and scarred. The thickened, stiff tissue makes it more difficult to lungs to work properly. "He was taking treatment in Hyderabad. He also regularly practised yoga," one of his batchmates said.
The incident is believed to have happened between 1 and 1.30 pm when his family members were not at home. They found him lying in an unconscious state on the floor when they returned.
MVP zone police station circle inspector Shanmukha Rao told TOI they received a complaint that the officer died after he fell down while tying a rope to dry clothes. The marks of rope on his neck were visible, but the complaint said the rope might have entangled his neck. Police have registered a suspicious death case and sent the body for post-mortem.