Former IMF director perishes in study fire

Former IMF director perishes in study fire
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE

PUNE, MARCH 29: Shantaram Dwarkanath Deshmukh, former director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in South Asia and younger brother of the illustrious C D Deshmukh, met a grisly end on Tuesday when he was charred to death in a fire in his study.

Eighty-year-old Deshmukh, a thinker-writer and an activist of the Express Citizens Forum (ECF), had been living in the Shantisheela Housing Society, off Law College Road, with his wife ever since he retired.

Deshmukh's death has come as a shock to many in the city, especially those who have worked with him or followed his work closely. His son, who is settled in Mumbai, reached Pune late on Tuesday evening.

Vikram Pawar, inspector in-charge of Deccan Gymkhana police station, said that Deshmukh was busy writing when a fire broke out in his study around noon. He probably lit a candle after power supply to the area was disrupted.

The maid was the first to notice smoke billowing from the room and she immediately raised an alarm. His wife, who was under medication, was sleeping when the maid called the neighbours who rushed to the house. Nanda Halbe and Amit Patwardhan were the first to reach the house and had to force open the door.

``They opened the door to discover his completely charred body,'' said one of the neighbours. ``He was probably trying to seal something with wax at his study table when the papers on his table caught fire,'' said Sheetal Deshmukh, daughter-in-law. ``His clothes probably caught fire as he was trying to put out the blaze,'' she added. She and her husband, Atul, rushed to the city from Mumbai on learning of the tragedy.

Deshmukh was shifted to Sasoon Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.