A man, aged 61, hailing from Maharashtra, was discovered deceased inside a water tank at Maharishi Deoraha Baba Medical College in Deoria after going missing from the facility. The deceased, identified as Ashok Gawande, a resident of Thane, Maharashtra, had been admitted to the hospital’s emergency ward on September 27 following a leg injury and was recorded under his own name.
Hospital officials failed to notify the authorities when Gawande disappeared from the ward. However, during the investigation, police recovered a shirt and bedsheet belonging to Gawande on the fifth floor, aiding in confirming his ward location and hospital records.
On October 6, a foul odor in the water supply led hospital workers to the discovery of the body in the cemented water tank on the fifth floor. Following immediate notification to the police, the body was retrieved for post-mortem examination.
To establish the victim’s identity, a police team was dispatched to Mumbai and Gorakhpur. Subsequently, Gawande’s wife, Anita Gawande, and brother-in-law, Prafull Nagar, positively identified him through photographs and WhatsApp communication.
Police later disclosed that Ashok Gawande had been living separately from his wife for four years, receiving treatment for mental illness in Mumbai. The investigation revealed security lapses at the hospital, prompting the removal of Principal Dr. Rajesh Barnwal, with Dr. Rajni from Etah appointed as the acting principal.
Authorities are conducting a comprehensive investigation to ascertain the circumstances that led to the mentally ill patient’s disappearance and tragic demise in the hospital’s water tank.