Former Indian High Commissioner to Tanzania, Krishan Dayal Sharma (79), committed suicide by shooting himself in the head at his east New Delhi residence last week.

Apart from Tanzania, Ambassador Sharma had also served in diplomatic missions to Zambia, Mauritius, Australia, Spain and Pakistan before retiring from the Indian Foreign Service in 1989.

Police officials said that Sharma was reportedly suffering from prolonged stomach ailment and was depressed at his inability to deal with recurring bouts of pain. The incident took place on Thursday at around 10 a.m. at Sharma's two-storey residence in the posh Madhuban colony.

Investigating officials said that the incident was reported by his servant, who discovered his employer's body in the master bathroom around 9 a.m. Sharma shot himself in the forehead with his licensed .32 bore pistol.

Ravindra Sharma, his servant-cum-caretaker, said that Ambassador Sharma was suffering from depression after an acute pain in his abdomen Wednesday night.

The incident comes less than three weeks after his second wife, Antonia, left India to visit her relatives in Madrid, Spain.

“Sharma had divorced his first wife, Veena Sharma, in 1989 and had been married to Antonia since,” the officer said.

Police said Sharma has two sons from his first wife, both of whom are settled abroad.

His elder son, Vikram (47) is a scientist and is settled in Australia, while his younger son Gautam (45) works as editor of a popular car magazine in Dubai.

Sharma left behind three suicide notes and his body has been sent for post-mortem and a case has been registered at the Preet Vihar police station in Delhi.

The former Indian envoy was a soft-spoken man who didn't believe in socialising, although he had served on diplomatic missions to four continents.

"Prima facie, it looks like suicide since no one seems to have entered the house. We are waiting for family members to arrive before a postmortem is conducted. The postmortem will ascertain all facts," said Indian police spokesperson, I B Rani.

Rani said the deceased had left a copy of the same suicide note at three different places in the house so that no one missed them. "The suicide note talked of a chronic illness," said Rani.

East district police sources claimed Sharma had also mentioned loneliness as another cause but Rani denied any knowledge of it. Sharma's family members were unavailable for comment.

Police said the deceased was living alone. "His Spanish wife, who he had married after divorcing his first wife in 1990, is currently in Spain. His two sons are in Australia and the UAE. On Thursday morning, when Ravindra could not find his employer, he went to the bathroom to check. It was there that he found Ambassador Sharma lying dead. He had shot himself in the head," said a senior police officer.