GREATER NOIDA: A deputy general manager at the National Thermal Power Corporation's (NTPC) plant in Dadri was found dead on his office campus on Friday.
Police said Satish Kumar Singh jumped into the plant's cooling tower around noon on Friday. The body was spotted when family members and police started looking for him after he didn't show up for lunch. His wife told the cops that Singh was suffering from depression and had also told her that he would want to quit.
Originally from Varanasi, the 48-year-old head of the Dadri plant's coal handling department is survived by his wife and two daughters. The family lived at the NTPC township in Dadri.
As usual, Singh had left his home for work in the morning. Around 11.45am, he told his colleagues he was stepping out of office for 10 minutes. Later, when he didn't reach home for lunch, his wife, Madhvi, started calling him on his mobile phone.
"Unable to get any response, the family soon started looking for him and informed the Jarcha police station around 4pm," additional DCP (Greater Noida) Vishal Pandey told TOI.
A police team immediately reached his office and found his car parked on the NTPC campus and his phone on his desk. "We immediately asked our forensics team and the dog squad to join the probe, and started searching for Kumar in the nearby jungle area," Pandey said.
After nearly three hours, his body was recovered by the police team from the 20ft deep pit of the cooling tower. "There were no injury marks on Singh's body and it was sent for an autopsy," another police officer said.
As soon as the news spread, members of the NTPC workers' union staged a protest on the campus and demanded an inquiry into the death. They also demanded a job for his wife and other benefits.
One of his relatives told TOI Singh was entrusted with additional responsibilities around two months ago when his immediate superior was transferred. "He would tell us he was unable to take the workload and wanted to quit."
In a statement, NTPC said, "We are deeply shocked and saddened by the untimely demise of NTPC Dadri's DGM Satish Kumar Singh. We are providing all support to the bereaved family and stand firmly with them in this hour of crisis. All possible assistance will be given to the family in line with NTPC's extant policies. We have also constituted a committee to go into the reasons behind this tragic incident."
