Kolkata: A 30-year-old nurse was found dead under mysterious circumstances inside a washroom at Kolkata’s NRS Medical College and Hospital during her night shift, triggering a police investigation.
The incident took place late on Wednesday night at the state-run hospital. The nurse was reportedly posted at the High Dependency Unit (HDU) of the gynaecology department. When she went to the washroom and did not return, colleagues became concerned and alerted the authorities.
Police personnel from Entally Police Station, along with the Detective Department’s Homicide team, reached the hospital after receiving information about the incident. The nurse was found unconscious and was subsequently declared dead. She was reportedly a resident of the Dum Dum area of Kolkata.
The circumstances surrounding her death remain unclear. Police have not ruled out any possibility and are investigating how the nurse died while she was on duty inside the hospital premises.
According to preliminary reports, investigators are examining whether the nurse had access to medicines in the hospital and whether any drug could have played a role in her death. Some reports have suggested a possible overdose of an anaesthetic drug, but this has not yet been conclusively established.
Importantly, police said no suicide note was recovered from the spot. Investigators are now waiting for the post-mortem examination and forensic findings to determine the exact cause of death.
Police are also examining the circumstances immediately before the nurse entered the washroom. Her mobile phone records, statements of colleagues and other available evidence are expected to form part of the investigation.
The incident has raised fresh concerns about the safety and security of healthcare workers inside hospital premises, particularly those working night shifts. NRS Medical College and Hospital is one of Kolkata’s major government hospitals and operates round the clock, with doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers frequently working overnight.
Authorities are expected to examine CCTV footage from the surrounding areas and question hospital staff who were on duty at the time.
The nurse’s death has shocked her colleagues and family, while investigators continue to probe whether the death was accidental, self-inflicted or linked to any other circumstance.
For now, officials have stressed that the exact cause of death can only be established after the medical and forensic examinations are completed. The investigation remains underway.
