Ex-diplomat Vipin Handa dies in freak accident

NEW DELHI: A former Indian diplomat to Pakistan Vipin Handa was killed in a freak accident at a government offices'' complex here on Thursday afternoon when the lift in which he was coming down collapsed.
The accident took place at 12:10 pm at the Research Analysis Wing (RAW) office in Central Government Offices (CGO) complex in central Delhi Lodhi Road when he was going to attend a meeting along with three other officers.
It said that while the other officers stepped out of the lift, Handa, who was to follow them, got trapped inside the elevator which suddenly hurtled down.
The report said that soon afterwards, a bang was heard and authorities rushed to the ground floor where Handa, an Indian Revenue Service officer, was found.
The door of the lift was opened and he was rushed to the hospital where Handa was declared dead.
Handa was among the four Indian staffers in Pakistan who were expelled by Islamabad in a tit-for-tit action on January 23 this year.
The building has been sealed and an in-house inquiry began into the collapse of the lift.
Fire Brigade officials, who were informed about the accident, were not allowed inside the "out-of-bound" building.
"Before we reached the spot, the victim had been taken to the hospital and we were not allowed inside the building," a Fire Brigade spokesman said.