A 28-year-old doctor pursuing Post Graduation (PG) from the University College of Medical Sciences (UCMS) was found dead at his rented accommodation in B block Dilshad Garden under highly mysterious circumstances, police said on Wednesday. The doctor identified as Sharath Prabhu hailed from Tamil Nadu and was staying with two of his course mates.
Dr Sharath was studying PG (Medicines) and was also attached with the Guru Tegh Bahadur (GTB) Hospital. He had joined the hospital in May 2017.
“The incident was reported to police at around 7:30 am on Wednesday when police received a call from the GTB hospital. As per the statement given by his two flatmates, Karthikey and Aravind, they had morning shift at 5 am. At 6 am, when Sharath did not open his door, they forcefully broke open his room and found him lying with his head on the washbasin inside the washroom.
“Also, they found a syringe lying around the basin. Two syringes were found in Sharath’s room and we have handed them over to the doctors. It could be a case of drug overdose or some lethal drug being injected into the body. It will become clearer only after the postmortem report, which is likely to be conducted on Thursday morning,” said a senior police officer.
Hours after news of Sharath’s death reached his family in Coimbatore, his father Selvamani flew to Delhi. Sharath’s father runs a textile business and his mother, Kanappa is a homemaker in hometown Coimbatore. Sharath is survived by his parents and a younger sister.
Selvamani told the media at the GTB mortuary, “My son spoke to me yesterday night around 9 pm. He got good marks to secure this MS seat, brought up my son with so much care and affection.” On the other hand, police sources said deceased Sharath texted some of his friends on December 23 that he is depressed and he don’t want to live and will end his life. His friends have submitted the text messages to the Delhi Police.
The cops have sent request to the Delhi Government to constitute a medical board consisting a panel of doctors to conduct postmortem in Sharath mysterious death case.
Nupur Prasad, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Shahdara), said, “A team from Central Forensic Science laboratory (CFSl) visited the crime scene and had picked up all the exhibits. legal action will be taken after the postmortem is conducted tomorrow,”
A police officer, requesting anonymity said, “According to the doctors, two vials containing insulin and potassium were also found lying near the body, indicating that he may have committed suicide.”
However a senior doctor said, “It cannot be drug overdose, insulin and potassium do not give you a high. Potassium is usually given to patients who have an electrolyte imbalance, but it is given in a very controlled dose because an overdose can be fatal. As for insulin, an excess of it can cause hypoglycemia (low blood sugar). Being a doctor, he was well aware that overdose on both would definitely be fatal for him.”
His two flatmates told police that they had dinner with him on Tuesday night after which he went to his room to sleep around 10.30 pm. Sharath’s flatmates also hail from Coimbatore and are doctors at the GTB Hospital.
Sakthi Perumal, former secretary of Delhi Tamil Sangam, said, “Sharath was a bright student. He was a topper at the district level. He did his graduation from Coimbatore Medical College. He was doing Post Graduation.”
Neighbours claimed that Sharath and his flat mates usually remained among themselves. “These students had their own shifts so they never interacted with the neighbours,” said Kamlesh, a resident of B block.