A senior official of the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) died allegedly by suicide after falling off the balcony of his home on the 17th floor at a residential society in Noida on Saturday morning, police said. Even as a suicide note was recovered, according to police officers, his family initially claimed that it was an accidental death.
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According to the police, Ajay Garg (55), who worked as an executive director with the IOC, died after falling off the balcony of his flat at ATS One Hamlet Society in Noida’s Sector 104 around 10: 15 am on Saturday. Garg lived at the Noida flat with his wife Mayuri. The deceased — a native of Indira Nagar in Mukherjee Vihar in Kanpur — was an employee at IOC’s Kidwai Nagar office in South Delhi, officers said.
Police said the suicide note recovered from his room did not have any names and did not mention the reason behind the extreme move. “Main apne parivaar se bada pyaar karta hoon (I love my family very much),” read the note, said officers. The note has been sent for handwriting analysis, with the report expected in 10 to 15 days, police added.
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“Forensic teams were able to recover the suicide note from his room. In the note, he has not blamed anyone. The note has been sent for handwriting analysis to determine if it was his handwriting, the family has been questioned and further investigation will be carried out thereafter,” said Dharamprakash Shukla, Station House Officer (SHO), Sector 34 police station.
On Saturday morning, as Garg fell off the balcony, security guards and bystanders rushed to the spot after hearing a loud thud and found him lying on the ground in a pool of blood. He was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was declared dead.
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During questioning, Garg’s family initially denied the possibility of suicide, police said.
The family argued that he fell when he went to the balcony in an attempt to get better mobile network connectivity, officers added. His wife told the police that she was in the kitchen preparing tea for breakfast at the time of the incident.
His son, who works in Mumbai, arrived in Noida on Sunday evening. The funeral was held on Sunday at a cremation ground in Sector 94 of Noida. Investigation is underway, officers said.
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Saman Husain is a Correspondent at The Indian Express. Based in New Delhi, she is an emerging voice in political journalism, reporting on civic governance, elections, migration, and the social consequences of policy, with a focus on ground-reporting across Delhi-NCR and western Uttar Pradesh.
Professional Profile
Education:
She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science (Honours) from Kirori Mal College, University of Delhi, and is an alumna of the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), Chennai.
Core Beats:
Her reporting focuses on the national capital’s governance and politics. She specializes in Delhi’s civic administration and the city units of the BJP, AAP and Congress. In western Uttar Pradesh, she mostly reports on crime.
Specialization:
She has a keen interest in electoral processes and politics — her recent contributions include work on electoral roll revisions.
Recent Notable Articles (since July 2025)
Her recent work reflects a strong show-not-tell approach to storytelling, combining narrative reporting with political and historical context:
1. Politics:
“On the banks of the Yamuna, a political tussle for Purvanchali support” (October 6): A report on how migration histories shaped electoral strategies in Delhi before the Bihar elections.
“Explained: How Delhi’s natural drainage vanished gradually over the centuries” (September 29): An explanatory piece tracing the historical reasons that eventually led to the erosion of Delhi’s rivers and its impact on perrenial flooding.
2. Longforms
“Four weddings, three funerals: How a Uttar Pradesh man swindled insurance companies” (October 7): A long-read reconstructing a chilling fraud by a man who killed three of his family members, including both his parents for insurance proceeds. His fourth wife discovered his fraud…
“How Ghaziabad conman operated fake embassy of a country that doesn’t exist — for 9 years” (July 27) : A story on bizarre fraud operation and the institutional blind spots that enabled it.
3. Crime and Justice:
“He was 8 when his father was killed. Fifteen years later, in UP’s Shamli, he took revenge” (October 18): A deeply reported crime story tracing cycles of violence, memory and justice in rural Uttar Pradesh.
“Who killed 19 girls in Nithari? With the SC rejecting appeals, there are no answers and no closure” (July 31): A report capturing the long legal and emotional aftermath of one of India’s most chilling unsolved criminal cases.
4. Policy Impact
“At Manthan, over US tariffs, Delhi-NCR’s apparel industry brainstorms solutions” (September 8) and “Trump’s 50% tariff begins to bite: Agra’s leather belt feels the impact” (August 13) : Reports documenting how global trade decisions ripple through local industries, workers and exporters.
Signature Style
Saman is recognized for her grassroots storytelling. Her articles often focus on the “people behind the policy”. She is particularly skilled at taking mundane administrative processes and turning them into compelling human narratives.
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