65-year-old patient kills himself in TB hospital

MUMBAI: A 65-year-old Pune resident ended his life on Saturday by slitting his throat in the Sewri TB hospital.
The suicide came to light around 9.45am when a doctor conducting checks of wards observed that Sukhdev Pandey was not responding, RAK Marg police said.
The patient, who was operated for colorectal cancer in 2014, was a few days ago diagnosed with milary TB, a rare form of TB in which the bacteria spreads throughout the body through blood.
The death broke a two-year-long suicide-free spell in the hospital. Until a few years ago, Sewri TB Hospital used to witness a suicide every month because anti-TB drugs are known to induce depression. This changed when, in 2014, the BMC appointed psychiatrists and counsellors to help patients deal with depression.
Senior inspector Bhagwat Bhansode said a case of suicide has been registered but the police are carrying out probe to find out any foul play.