A 60-year-old patient who went missing from Nair Hospital on Monday died under mysterious circumstances an hour later. An Indian Express report said that the patient, Mohammed Isa Abdul Gaffar, was reported absconding from the medical ward. But when he was found, he was lying unconscious near the old hospital building. He was taken to the emergency ward, where the doctors declared him dead. The Agripada police started an inquiry into the matter on Monday. A diary entry made by the police stated that the Gaffar had died of natural causes.

Senior police inspector Salvaram Agawane told Indian Express that Gaffar went near the canteen and fell asleep. He said that he could have potentially died in his sleep. According to the inspector, Gaffar was admitted to Nair Hospital on Sunday since he was suffering from fever, chills and breathlessness. A senior doctor from the hospital revealed that his lungs were compromised since he was a chain smoker and smoked up to 20 beedis a day. He also suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder, which could have been worsened by his smoking habit.

It’s unclear how the sexagenarian could slip out of the ward without being noticed. On Monday, a staff nurse found Gaffar missing from his ward and raised an alarm. It was alleged that he left the ward on his own accord. The dean of Nair Hospital Dr RN Bharmal said that the hospital followed protocol and informed the police. Before the police could even begin their investigation, they found the man near the old hospital building near an ATM.

The doctors claimed the patient didn’t require intensive care and was quite stable before he went missing. The post-mortem report conducted on him showed that Gaffar died due to septicaemia, a serious infection of the bloodstream. Earlier this year, Nair Hospital was in the news for the accidental death of Rajesh Maru, a 32-year-old man who was sucked into the MRI machine.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 25, 2018 11:35 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).