Helper found dead in ICU, cops suspect suicide

A 23-year-old man, working as a nursing attendant at Santom hospital in north-west Delhi’s Prashant Vihar, was found dead in the bathroom of the hospital’s intensive care unit (ICU) on Monday. Police said the man committed suicide by injecting himself with “poison”.

An injection mark was found on his left forearm (inner elbow). His preliminary autopsy report confirmed that he died because of poison that was injected in his body through a syringe. Police have ruled out the possibility of a murder as the bathroom door was bolted from inside. However, no suicide note has been recovered.

“We have initiated inquest proceedings into the case,” said Rishipal, deputy commissioner of police (Rohini), adding that the hospital authorities reported Rahul’s demise early on Monday, hours after he went missing. Rahul has been working with Santom hospital for the last three years.

Rahul’s body was found by another attendant who broke the bathroom door open and found him lying unconscious. The attendant alerted other hospital staff. The local police station was informed about the incident. He was declared dead after careful examination by doctors. Rahul’s family members were informed about his death. The body was later sent to Baba Saheb Ambedkar hospital for autopsy.

“One of our employees found the person unconscious. His pupils were dilated. Since he was in the hospital we immediately gave him CPR and tried to revive him. The police was informed about the incident and post-mortem is awaited. One of the employees said he was tense about some family matter,” said Dr Sushma Malik, medical director of Santom hospital.

During preliminary probe, the police learnt that Rahul had been under depression.