The former Labour Minister and Janata Dal (Secular) leader from Kalaburagi, Gurunath (66) committed suicide by jumping from the second floor window of the Sagar Hospital on Bannerghatta Road on Thursday afternoon.
Mr. Gurunath was suffering from acute diabetes and had renal problems for which he was being treated at the hospital since Monday. He underwent surgery on Tuesday.
He was in the same room as BSNL Divisional Engineer, Arunachalam, who witnessed him jumping from the window.
The police suspect that Mr. Gurunath may have been depressed due to his medical condition. The police said medical attendants of both Mr. Gurunath and Mr. Arunachalam were not in the room when the incident took place.
When Mr. Gurunath pushed open the window of the room, Mr. Arunachalam asked him not to do so. Even before he could prevent him from doing anything rash, Mr. Gurunath had jumped out, the police said.
The former Minister had come from Shahabad in Kalaburagi district to Bengaluru for medical treatment. His family was not at the hospital when the incident occurred. “Only his nephew Dilip was attending to him,” sources in the hospital said.
The body was handed over to the family after conducting post-mortem at KIMS hospital. The body will be taken to his hometown for the last rites, said Ramakrishnappa, Mr. Gurunath’s brother. The Tilak Nagar police have registered a case of unnatural death and are investigating.
The police said though the incident occurred at around 12.30 p.m., the hospital authorities alerted the police only by 2.30 p.m. Worse, the hospital staff had cleaned the scene of the crime, which the police considered a lapse on the part of the management. “The window from where Gurunath had leaped was probably not more than 16 to 19 inches wide. He must have struggled hard to get through.”
Timeline
April 18: Gurunath admitted to hospital
April 19: Undergoes surgery
April 21: Was to have been discharged around 1 p.m.
April 21: 12.30 pm he managed to get up from the hospital bed after sending his nephew to get the duty doctor, jumps out of window
2.30 pm: hospital alerts Tilak Nagar police
Hospital staff clean scene of crime; police to issue show-cause notice seeking explanation
