A 32-year-old IPS officer was found dead under mysterious circumstances in his room at the Police Officers Mess at Egmore, Chennai, on Thursday.

His death came to light in the morning when a cop on hostel duty, broke open the door of Harish’s room and found him lying unconscious on his bed. But, the doctors at the hospital declared him brought dead, and the body was shifted to Egmore Hospital for postmortem.

A native of Karnataka, N. Harish was recently transferred from Madurai district, as Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) with the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) unit in Chennai.

A 2009 batch IPS officer, Harish had secured 186th all India rank in Civil Services Exams in 2008. He was depressed because he couldn’t clear an examination to get promoted to the rank of Superintendent of Police (SP).

A senior police officer investigating the case said, “His batch mates said that Harish was upset the past few weeks because he failed the department’s promotion exam.”

An unmarried officer, Harish had also off late developed addiction to alcohol. There are also allegations of harassment from senior officers during his tenure in Madurai. Harish was posted as ASP in Thiruparankundram zone in Madurai district in August 2011.

Although preliminary investigations claim that the death was due to natural causes, some suspect that Harish might have committed suicide by consuming sleeping pills.