Nagpur: Senior medical practitioner Dr Eshwar Chandewar, 42, in-charge of Neuron Hospital, Dhantoli, allegedly died by suicide inside his hospital cabin early Monday, sending shockwaves through the city’s medical community. No suicide note was found and the trigger for the extreme step is yet to be established, said police.The tragedy comes six months after the death of Dr Sanjay Pakmode, the hospital’s director and a senior neurosurgeon, who suffered a heart attack.Dr Chandewar reported for duty around 5am and locked himself inside his cabin, before he was found slumped on his chair by police and hospital staff six hours later. As per the autopsy report, he died of an overdose of anaesthesia drugs.When hospital employees noticed he was inside the cabin for an unusually long period and was not responding to repeated calls, they called police and the cabin was force-opened at 11am. Dr Chandewar was immediately shifted to the Intensive Care Unit, where fellow doctors failed to revive him.Senior police inspector of Dhantoli, Sainath Ramod, told TOI 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 password is not known. Until the phone is unlocked, we won’t be able to track definitive clues. Hospital staff said Dr Chandewar was calm and didn’t display any sign of mental stress in the last few days,” he said.Ramod ruled out foul play, saying CCTV footage shows no such activity. “We can see a nurse coming in and going out after talking to him, before he shut the door,” he said. A forensic team visited the spot and collected details and the body was sent to GMCH mortuary for autopsy, where doctors said the body had injection marks on his wrist. “There is no injury or sign of struggle on his body. The drug triggered deep sleep which probably caused his death. His viscera sample has been preserved for further analysis. As of now, it is a case of suicide,” they said.Hospital sources said Dr Chandewar 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.
