Himanshu Roy, IPS Who Probed 26/11 Attacks & Cracked IPL Scandal

Himanshu Roy, former chief of the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad, committed suicide on 11 May at his residence.

(Photo: PTI)

A senior Mumbai police officer and former chief of the Maharashtra Anti-terrorism Squad Himanshu Roy committed suicide at his residence on Friday, 11 May.

Six-feet tall with a characteristic walrus moustache, Roy was said to be a fitness freak. He had been battling cancer and had gone on a long leave citing medical grounds in 2016.

A 1988-batch Indian Police Services (IPS) officer of the Maharashtra cadre and a St Xavier's College graduate, Roy was also a Chartered Accountant with Arthur Anderson, one of the top five accounting firms in the world. After clearing his IPS exam, Roy was first posted in Maharashtra's Malegaon in 1991.

In 1995, Roy became the youngest Superintendent of Police (SP) Nasik (rural).

Cases he Cracked

During his two-and-a-half-decade-long service to the country's police force, Roy led the investigation into several high-profile cases, including the riots that rocked India's financial capital post the demolition of Babri Masjid.

The 2006 case of Khairlanji massacre, in which four Dalit members of the same family were brutally killed by the politically dominant Kunbi community, was also cracked by Roy.

In 2007, Mumbai suffered the worst terror attack in the history of independent India. Roy was one of the leading police officers who probed the deadly 26 November attacks and oversaw the hanging of the prime accused Ajmal Kasab.

In 2013, when the spot-fixing scandal ruined the gentleman's game in the Indian Premier League, Roy, as the Joint Commissioner of the Police (Crime branch Mumbai, probed the matter.

Roy also served as the SP of Ahmednagar, DCP Economic Offences Wing, DCP Traffic and Commissioner of Police, Nasik, 2004-2007.

Roy had, in 2014, also arrested software engineer Anees Ansari who allegedly planned to bomb American School in Bandra Kurla Complex.

Besides dedicated service to the nation, Roy is also credited with introducing technology to the Mumbai police. The 58-year-old officer had started Mumbai's first Cyber Crime Cell, took several anti-dacoity measures in rural Maharashtra, and set up a special cell to deal with women related crimes.