Vyapam death: State of medical college dean's body showed signs of choking, say police

New Delhi: Initial investigations may have ruled out foul play behind the death of Jabalpur Medical College dean Arun Sharma in New Delhi, but Delhi Police are probing the case from all angles as the state of his body indicated “some sort of choking”. [caption id=“attachment_2329892” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Arun Sharma. IBNLive[/caption] Police sources, however, said that there was the least possibility of somebody having gained entry into Sharma’s hotel room as it was found locked from inside and police had to force the door for their entry. They said that upon inspecting the body, it was found that stool and urine had passed, which means there was some sort of choking. However, whether that was internal or external would be clear only in the autopsy report. A police team may also be sent to Jabalpur to determine what kind of linkages he had had with the investigation of the Vyapam scam, they added. Police are also looking into his call records to see who all were in touch with him in the 24 to 48 hours before his death. He had also spoken to a doctor friend after landing in Delhi. “He wanted to meet his doctor friend, who could not meet Sharma due to some reason. But they had fixed a get together after his return from Agartala,” sources said. Upon reaching Delhi on Saturday afternoon, Sharma took a cab and went straight to an alcohol shop in Kapashera and bought a bottle of liquor. He then went to his suite at the hotel and was by himself, police said. “Only 100-ml out of 750-ml of alcohol was left in the bottle, indicating that he was totally drunk,” sources said. His body was discovered the next morning. There were signs of vomiting in the bathroom. Sharma’s son has apparently told police that his father was prone to heavy drinking. Moreover, six to seven kinds of medicines, including ones used in cases of blood pressure, were found in a packet in the room. A total of Rs 35,000 was found in the hotel room along with his ID card, MCI card and an MCI letter for Agartala, police said. PTI