A doctor at a private super-speciality hospital in Guwahati was found dead inside an ICU chamber early on Wednesday morning, with police launching a probe into the matter, officials said.
Hospital founder and Managing Director Dr Hitesh Baruah said the police were informed soon after the doctor was found dead.
Police have launched an investigation to ascertain the cause of death. He was identified as Dr Prayash Singhal, who had been working at the hospital for around six years. He was posted in the Neurology ICU. He later complained of abdominal pain and vomiting and sought medication from the nursing staff. He was given medicines and an injection for the symptoms. He subsequently went to the doctors’ room and was attended to. “Dr Prayash Singhal had been working with us for the last six years. “He asked for medicines and was given medication and an injection. Later, he went to the doctors’ room,” he added. “When we checked on him in the morning, we found that he had already died. Police reached the hospital after being informed about the incident. The body was sent to the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital for post-mortem examination. The cause of death will be known after the post-mortem and forensic examination. “At this stage, we cannot say whether it was a suicide or something else. It would be hypothetical to say so. He added that personal issues could also be examined as part of the inquiry, but stressed that no conclusion had been reached. The hospital also clarified that several doctors from different departments, including Neurology, Cardiology and MICU, were present during the night shift, but no one saw when Dr Singhal died.
Dr Singhal arrived at the hospital at around 10 pm on Tuesday, according to hospital authorities. At around 4 am, hospital staff found him unresponsive inside the ICU chamber.
Hospital founder and Managing Director Dr Hitesh Baruah said the police were informed soon after the doctor was found dead. He was an emergency medicine doctor and was also working in the ICU,” Baruah said. He said Dr Singhal had complained of abdominal pain and vomiting during the night. Dr Baruah said staff found the doctor unresponsive during the early hours of Wednesday. There were no signs of life,” he said. Dr Baruah said it would be premature to draw any conclusion about the circumstances surrounding the death. We will have to wait for the post-mortem, forensic examination and investigation,” he said.
