Noida, September 8 (TNA) Former Delhi chief secretary Rakesh Mehta, a 1975-batch IAS officer who steered the capital’s administration during the 2010 Commonwealth Games, died by suicide at his residence in Noida, officials said on Tuesday. Police said the 74-year-old was found hanging from a ceiling fan at his flat in Kendriya Vihar-2 Society, Sector 82, on September 6, and a purported suicide note was recovered from the scene.
In the note, Mehta reportedly referred to “mental and health issues” as reasons for taking the extreme step, and police are treating the case as suicide based on the note and circumstances, while continuing investigations. Following inquest and post-mortem formalities, his body was handed over to the family, and he was cremated at the Lodhi Road crematorium.
Mehta served as Delhi’s chief secretary from 2007 until his retirement in November 2010, working under then chief minister Sheila Dikshit, and is credited with playing a key role in major civic, transport and power-sector reforms in the city. He was also the administrative head during the 2010 Commonwealth Games, a period that placed intense scrutiny on Delhi’s bureaucracy and infrastructure preparedness.
His death has triggered a wave of shock and mourning in administrative circles, with colleagues and former subordinates recalling him as a tough but reform-oriented bureaucrat who modernised several departments during a transformative phase for the capital.