Shimla: A former chairman of the Himachal Pradesh Public Service Commission (HPPSC) allegedly shot himself dead with his licensed revolver here on Friday morning, police said. In a purported suicide note, Major General (retd) C M Sharma, 67, stated that he was committing suicide as he was feeling uneasy due to depression. “I have no dispute with anyone,” he stated in the note. Prima facie it seems that Sharma has committed suicide at his residence in Jakhu. The matter is being investigated from all aspects, Superintendent of Police (SP) Omapati Jamwal told PTI. Sharma’s post-mortem was conducted at a hospital and the body will be handed over to his family on Saturday, the police said.
The police have initiated inquest proceedings under Section 174 (suicide/unnatural death) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), they added. Sharma, who is survived by his wife and two sons, took oath as the 13th chairman of the HPPSC in 2009 and remained on this post till 2013. Born in June 1951 in Shimla, Sharma completed his schooling from DAV public school, followed by BSc in agriculture from the then Himachal Agriculture College, Solan. Subsequently, he joined the Army and was commissioned in the Regiment of Artillery in 1972.
Sharma has commanded an artillery regiment in Ladakh and an artillery brigade in Jammu and Kashmir. He has been instructors in prestigious institutions like Army War College and School of Artillery. He is an expert in information warfare and disaster management. Sharma is a post-graduate diploma holder in human resources development from HP University, MPhil in public administration, PG Diploma in social sciences, MSc in defence studies and MPhil in defence and management.