Himanshu Roy told me the pain was unbearable, recalls former Mumbai police commissioner Arup Patnaik

Arup Patnaik, former police commissioner of Mumbai, expressed his sorrow over the death of Himanshu Roy on Friday. Roy, a former Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) chief, allegedly committed suicide on Friday by shooting himself with his service revolver at his Mumbai residence. Speaking exclusively to Firstpost, Patnaik, said, “I am shocked by the turn of events. This was completely unexpected.” Patnaik, said, “I found him very sharp, very polished, very sophisticated. He was a fitness freak. He was a very mature and cool-headed person.” [caption id=“attachment_4465723” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Himanshu Roy. Image courtesy: News18[/caption] Roy, who was diagnosed with cancer, had been on medical leave since April 2016. Patnaik said he had been in touch with him, as he has been running the Konark Cancer Foundation after retiring from the police force. “Roy had been suffering from cancer for the past three years. It was detected quite late when he noticed a swelling on his body. The cancer soon spread to his bones. To his credit, he continued to work even then and only took leave in the past two years,” Patnaik said. He also said that Roy remained in constant touch with him, one of the few officers he maintained contact after he was diagnosed with cancer. “Three months ago, he called me up and asked me for a reference so that he could meet with an expert for his illness. I referred him to a doctor and it was after meeting with the doctor and doing check-ups it was found the cancer had spread to his brain. The option was to go in for surgery, but I think Roy knew there wasn’t much hope for him. That must be why I think he shot himself. This is my hunch. Of course, a police investigation will reveal the details as it was an unnatural death,” the former city commissioner of police said. Many have spoken about the tough fight that Roy put up against cancer. But Patnaik said it is foolish for people to expect that Roy would “fight” cancer just because he was a top cop. “What is there to fight a disease? Can it be fought? Can you fight a storm or an earthquake? he asked. “Roy was in a lot of pain and took the extreme step,” he said. Patnaik said that when Roy met him three months ago, he said that he was in lot of pain. “It is unbearable. Please pray for me,” Roy had said. Roy, a 1988-batch IPS officer, was rushed to Bombay Hospital, where he was declared dead. Roy, who was the joint commissioner of police (Crime) from 2012-2014, is credited with leading the investigation into the IPL betting scandal, J Dey case, among many others. Patnaik said that he wanted to showcase Roy as a cancer survivor who inspite of the disease was diligent about doing his workouts daily. It would have been encouraging for other cancer afflicted patients, he said. “But that was not to be. I did not expect Roy to do this, especially seeing his spirit,” he said. Click here for further updates on Himanshu Roy's death case With inputs from PTI