“He put the gun on his chin and pulled the trigger. No suicide note was found in the room. He was evidently suffering from depression for the last few days,” said Deputy Superintendent of Police (South) Jaswant Singh Khaira.

The wife of the deceased, Harjeet Kaur, found AVM Dhillon lying in a pool of blood around 7.30 in the morning. “She panicked and started calling up her relatives. She informed the police at 9 am,” said Station House Officer Anokh Singh. The police rushed to the spot and called pressed forensic teams into service.

The police recovered the gun with one live cartridge lying beside the body. “The deceased seemed to be physically fit. We found his health status — ‘A1/G1’ and ‘blood pressure 120/80’ — written on the mirror in his bedroom,” said Inspector Anokh Singh.

Harjeet Kaur told the police that she did not hear any gunshots. Some relatives also raised the possibility of AVM Dhillon accidentally pulling the trigger. Kaur said it was the first time that he had used the weapon, which he had bought in 1971.

Senior Superintendent of Police S S Srivastava also visited the house and spoke with friends and relatives of the deceased. “Preliminary investigations reveal it is a case of suicide,” he said.

AVM Dhillon is survived by his wife, a married son and daughter. His son is a senior executive with a US-based tourism company and resides in Delhi. His daughter is married to an Army officer.

Neighbours remember the retired officer fondly. Wing Commander J M Kaushal (retd) said he and the AVM used to go for walks together. “We met last evening and he was perfectly alright. The news of his death came as a rude shock to me,” he added.