A 30-year-old nurse died within the premises of Kolkata's NRS Medical College and Hospital during her night shift, with police investigating the circumstances surrounding her death, according to PTI.
The nurse was found unconscious inside a washroom at the hospital and was later declared dead.
The incident was reported on Wednesday night after Entally Police Station received information from the NRS Out Post about the death of a female nurse in the hospital's High Dependency Unit (HDU), PTI report mentioned.
The DD Homicide team, along with personnel from the local police station, rushed to the hospital and found the nurse lying unconscious on a bed. She was taken for medical treatment, but the attending doctor declared her dead, ANI reported.
According to police, the deceased was a resident of Kolkata's Dum Dum area.
What happened inside the hospital?
Preliminary enquiries with other nursing staff revealed that the nurse had started her night shift at around 8 pm on August 12.
She went to the washroom at around 10.20 pm. When she did not return after several minutes, fellow nursing staff tried to contact her at around 10.27 pm, but received no response, according to ANI.
The washroom door was found bolted from the inside. After repeated knocks went unanswered, two people present at the hospital, identified as Md Samser Alam, 20, and Shreya Gaine, 20, broke open the door.
They found the nurse unconscious inside the washroom and immediately took her for medical treatment. However, the attending doctor declared her dead.
No visible injury marks found
Police subsequently conducted a detailed inspection of the scene.
According to preliminary information cited by ANI, no visible injury marks were found on the woman's body, and no suicide note was recovered from the spot.
Police have not yet disclosed the cause or circumstances of the death.
An inquest and post-mortem examination will be conducted to determine the exact cause of death, ANI reported.
Investigators are also examining the circumstances leading up to the incident, including the nurse's movements after she reported for duty and what happened inside the washroom.
Speaking about the incident, West Bengal Minister Agnimitra Paul said the government would investigate the matter and punish those found responsible while terming it "very heartbreaking".
"I have just received information about this incident. This incident is very heartbreaking. I can say that our government doesn't deal under the table. Whoever has shed blood, the case will be investigated, and they will receive punishment as well. It won't be like Abhaya's case, where they suppress the case for their agenda and perform the last rites, with the postmortem happening after 6 PM. Everything that was illegal, all of that was done by Mamata Banerjee and her government. Our government will not allow this," she added.
