Pune: A 29-year-old man from Kothrud was found dead in the bathroom on his flat on Tuesday evening in a suspected case of suffocation due to a gas geyser.
Senior inspector Pratibha Joshi of the Kothrud police told the media, that the man, Ramraje Kishor Sankpal, might have died about four days ago. Sassoon General Hospital conducted the man’s post-mortem on Tuesday, primary report of it states that he might have died due to suffocation, Joshi said.
The case came to notice when people felt a foul smell started coming from the flat, prompting the local residents to alert the police.
After receiving an alert, the police and fire brigade officials rushed to the society at Sangam Chowk in Kothrud and broke open the entrance door of the flat.
Upon inspection, it was found that the smell was coming from the bathroom, after which the police, as well as the firemen, broke open the bathroom door to find Sankpal lying motionless on the floor.
Senior inspector Joshi said Sankpal’s bathroom had an LPG-operated geyser.
“The bathroom’s window was closed,” she said, adding that Sankpal might have died due to suffocation after inhaling toxic fumes from the gas geyser.
“If the bathroom would have had a proper exhaust, the death could have been avoided,” the officer said, adding a case of accidental death (AD) has been registered in this regard.
Joshi said Sankpal used to give private tuitions to school students in his flat. “He used to stay alone in the flat,” she said. In this regard she also added that gas geysers emit harmful carbon monoxide.
“Many people have visited hospitals with the neurological effects, the aftereffect of keeping the gas geysers switched on in stuffy bathrooms. The gas geysers are popular as they are cheaper than electricity operated geysers,” an expert said.
