No foul play in Dean's death: Cops

A day after the Dean of a medical college in Jabalpur was found dead in a Delhi hotel, the Delhi Police on Wednesday ruled out foul play and handed over the body to the family after post-mortem examination. Arun Sharma (62), who was assisting Vyapam Scam investigation, was also a habitual drinker, said police. They recovered strips of anti-depression, blood pressure and diabetes pills from the spot.

Soon after landing at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport on Saturday afternoon, Sharma bought a wine bottle from Kapashera border and went to the Uppal Hotel in Dwarka. So far, investigations revealed that he did not meet anybody after reaching Delhi. Sharma has also gone through CCTV footages from the liquor shop and hotel premises. 

The Delhi Police also said that the post-mortem was conducted by a panel of five doctors at Safdarjung Hospital on Monday. “We will hand over all the evidence to the MP Police, if they want,” said an official, adding that they have ruled out the recovery of any documents related to the Vyapam (Madhya Pradesh Vyavsayik Pariksha Mandal) scam. 

Sharma had to go to Tripura for an inspection of Agartala Medical College. He had to board a flight on Sunday morning. Delhi Police sources told The Pioneer that Sharma had booked the hotel suite on charge of `5,000 which includes meals and breakfast. The room was booked from Internet and the hotel was asked to send a car to pick him up from the airport. 

Sharma landed at the IGI Airport around 2.10 pm and was picked up by Uppal Hotel’s car. He asked the car driver to take him to a nearest theka (liquor shop), from where he could get the liquor. The driver drove him to a shop in Kaspahera and dropped him to the hotel around 3.45 pm.  On way to his hotel, he made a call to his friend, who lives in Chanakyapuri, and assured him to meet after returning from Agartala, where he was supposed to be on official tour for two days. He had to return Delhi on July 7 and had to stay in the same Uppal Hotel. 

Apart from the liquor bottle, investigating sleuths recovered six kinds of tablets, which include Glycomet, Pexep, Olmezest on the table near the bed. His body was lying on the bed and he was wearing night suit. “His puke was all over in the bathroom, along with urine and stool,” said an officer.While checking in the hotel at 3.55 pm, he told the hotel staff to give him a wakeup call around 4.30 am as his flight for Agartala was scheduled for 6.10 am on Sunday. After repeated attempts, when no response came from inside, the door was opened by using master card and the police were informed around 5 am. 

So far, investigations suggested that he did not meet anyone and he was not carrying any such documents which were related to the scam. Sharma was helping the MP police in their investigation. After his body was recovered, the Delhi Police first informed his son who was in Bangalore at that time. His son told the police that his father was a regular drinker and was also suffering from heavy blood sugar and blood pressure. He was also taking tablets for anti-depression. Police said that they have preserved viscera from Sharma’s body and sent it to forensic laboratory for examination. 

Sharma’s friend Kanti Swaroop Sharma told The Pioneer that his friend called him on Saturday and informed him about his arrival. “He called me and I asked him to come to my house but he told me that the room has been booked somewhere at Dwarka. He also told me that he will meet me after returning from Agartala,” said Kanti Swaroop. Arun Sharma, dean of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Medical College, is the 45th person connected to the Vvyapam scam who died under mysterious circumstances.