A 60-year-old man jumped to death from the terrace of a six-storey building at Government Kilpauk Medical College Hospital (KMC) premises on Saturday morning.
He had come to the hospital for out-patient treatment for knee pain.
This is the second such incident this year. In June, a 60-year-old man who was undergoing treatment for cancer jumped to death at Government Royapettah Hospital.
Police sources said Kumar, a resident of Tholkappiyar Street, MGR Nagar, was working as a cook in a hotel at Kumananchavadi. Following his wife’s death two years ago, he had become an alcoholic. His son Prabhu works as a sales personnel at a garment shop. However, father and son rarely kept in touch.
“Kumar had come for treatment for knee pain and a doctor had asked him to get an x-ray done. But he went to the terrace of the surgical block and jumped from there. Usually, the gate leading to the terrace is locked but it was kept open in the morning for lift maintenance,” said a hospital staff member.
Kumar fell on a car parked below and sustained severe injuries. Hospital staff rushed him to the emergency ward but he died on the way.
Meanwhile, Pappathi (48), a nurse at KMC, who was alighting from the car driven by her husband Chelladurai, a doctor, sustained injuries and was admitted for treatment at the hospital.
“The incident occurred around 7.50 a.m. when we were sitting inside the sergeant room opposite the building. We heard a loud thud and saw the man lying in a pool of blood.” said another staff member.
The staff recalled that a few years ago, a patient had jumped from the building but survived.
M. Panneerselvam, a social worker, who had known Kumar for nearly 20 years, came to the hospital to take Kumar’s body for performing the final rites. He said Kumar might have taken the extreme step due to depression following his wife’s death.
Kumar’s son Prabhu came to the hospital later and performed the final rites at a crematorium in T. Nagar.
