Mumbai, May 11: In the suicide note left behind by deceased police officer Himanshu Roy, he cited his prolonged illness as the reason for ending his life, said the statement issued by Mumbai Police on Friday.

Earlier in the day, the 55-year-old Roy, who was on extended leave, committed suicide by firing himself in the mouth at around 1:45 pm. On being rushed to the Bombay Hospital at Marine Lines, he was declared dead on arrival.

Roy was last designated as the ADG (Housing). He had earlier held the posts of Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) chief, Joint Commissioner of Police (Mumbai) and Commissioner of Police, Nashik, among others.

The 1988-batch IPS officer earned fame after cracking a range of high-profile cases, including the 2013 IPL betting racket, murders of journalist J Dey, Bollywood actor Laila Khan and law graduate Pallavi Purkayastha in Mumbai.

Roy was also part of the ATS team which cracked down on the role of American-Pakistani terrorist David Headley in the 26/11 Mumbai attack case.

On his demise, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the state's security forces have suffered a major setback.

"He was known as a daring officer and had held many important positions. With his demise we have lost a capable officer," the CM said.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 11, 2018 08:15 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).