Former corporate honcho hangs self in his Mumbai office

Mumbai city news: Dilip Pendse left a suicide note in which he apologised to his wife and asked for her forgiveness

Dilip Pendse, 61, who was removed as Tata Finance chief in 2001 amid allegations of irregularities, committed suicide by hanging himself in his Dadar office on Wednesday.

Dilip Pendse was removed as Tata Finance chief in 2001 after a company subsidiary ran huge mark-to-market losses and the group filed a criminal case against him

The police said Pendse left a suicide note in which he apologised to his wife and asked for her forgiveness. “The note expressed he was going through personal problems. The note also stated no one should be held responsible for his death,” said a police officer.

Pendse was removed as Tata Finance chief in 2001 after a company subsidiary ran huge mark-to-market losses and the group filed a criminal case against him.

While Pendse refuted all charges, which included fraud, he also had to spend time in jail.

Market regulator SEBI had found Pendse had executed illegal transactions in the stocks of four firms, including Infosys Ltd and erstwhile Telco. It had prohibited Pendse from accessing capital markets for two years.

Pendse, who was working as a consultant, was found hanging from the ceiling fan of his office located on the ground floor of Royal Grace building at Dadar (East). He lived with his wife on the first floor of the same building. “Pendse’s children are abroad and he was living with his wife,” said the officer.