Nagpur doctor found dead inside hospital cabin, anaesthesia overdose suspected

Nagpur: In a tragic incident that has sent shockwaves through Nagpur's medical fraternity, a 42-year-old senior doctor allegedly died by suicide after administering an anaesthesia drug inside his cabin at Neuron Hospital in Dhantoli on Monday morning. 

Police said no suicide note was recovered from the scene, and the reason behind the extreme step remains unknown. 

The incident comes barely six months after the death of the director of Neuron Hospital and a renowned neurosurgeon, who had succumbed to a heart attack.

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According to police, the doctor reported for duty around 5 am and entered his cabin, locking the door from inside. Concern arose when he remained inside for several hours and failed to respond to repeated calls from hospital staff. As per the autopsy report, he died of an overdose of anaesthesia drugs.

Hospital employees alerted police, who arrived at the scene and forcibly opened the cabin around 11 am. The doctor was found unconscious and slumped in his chair. He was immediately shifted to the Intensive Care Unit, where fellow doctors attempted to revive him but were unsuccessful.

Speaking to TOI, Senior police inspector of Dhantoli, Sainath Ramod, said that an investigation is underway and they would be questioning hospital staff on Tuesday. “We didn’t find any suicide note. His high-end phone is locked, and the password is not known. Until the phone is unlocked, we won’t be able to track definitive clues. Hospital staff said the doctor was calm and didn’t display any sign of mental stress in the last few days,” he said.

Police have ruled out foul play after examining CCTV footage from the hospital premises. Investigators said the footage showed normal activity before the doctor shut himself inside the cabin. A nurse was seen entering and leaving the room after a brief conversation with him, following which no suspicious movement was recorded.

A forensic team visited the spot, collected evidence, and sent the body to the GMCH mortuary for an autopsy. Doctors found injection marks on his wrist but noted no injuries or signs of a struggle on the body. According to the preliminary findings, the drug induced a deep sleep that likely caused his death. The viscera sample was preserved for further analysis. Based on the available evidence, the case is being treated as a suicide.

Hospital sources said the doctor managed the administration. “We feel a personal reason or family dispute could be the suicide trigger. He was efficient, clinical, and treated everyone with respect. We never had a hint he would take such a decision,” said a doctor, reports TOI.

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