Date:02/10/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/10/02/stories/2008100250700100.htm

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Young doctor found dead in hostel

Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI: A 26-year-old doctor pursuing post-graduation in orthopaedics at Lady Hardinge Medical College here was found dead in his hostel room under mysterious circumstances on Wednesday.

Dr. Navneet Prasad was found lying on the bed when the police broke open the door of his hostel room No. 127 in the morning.

The body did not bear any injury marks.

“The door was bolted from inside and we had to break it open. The cause of death will be ascertained after the autopsy report is obtained. Prima facie it appears to be a case of natural death,” said a senior police officer at the Mandir Marg police station.

Recalling the sequence of events in the morning, Head of the Department (Orthopaedics) Dr. Anil Mehtani said: “One of my colleagues at Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital -- where Dr. Prasad was posted -- called me up around 9-30 a.m. to inform that Dr. Prasad had not reported for duty today. When we made enquiries, Dr. Prasad’s hostel inmates told me that he was not responding to knocks at the door. This raised suspicion, and the matter was reported to the hospital authorities and the police. When the door was broken open, he was found lying unconscious on the bed. Some fellow doctors even tried to revive him, but in vain.”

Describing Dr. Prasad as a hard-working, decent and honest person, Dr. Mehtani said his untimely death had come as a rude shock to everyone who knew him.

“It is a matter of investigation as to what actually caused his death, but it does not seem to be a case of suicide. It could be natural death. Cardiac arrest at this age is always fatal,” said another doctor not willing to be named.

One of Dr. Prasad’s friends remembered him as a helpful soul who usually kept to himself.

“He was shy and introvert and did not interact much. He did his MBBS from the University College of Medical Sciences at Shahdara. He was last seen on Wednesday by some of the hostel inmates around 1 a.m.,” a friend said.

A native of Bihar, Dr. Prasad had joined the post-graduation course at Lady Hardinge Medical College this past July.