A 30-year-old nurse was found dead inside a toilet at Kolkata’s Nil Ratan Sircar Medical College and Hospital (NRS) late Wednesday night, raising questions over the circumstances surrounding her death. The deceased, identified as Rupali Barman, was posted in the Gynaecology department’s HDU and was on night duty when the incident took place.
Police have started an investigation, while her body has been sent for post-mortem examination to establish the exact cause of death.
Nurse found unconscious inside toilet
According to hospital sources, Rupali reported for duty at around 8 pm. After joining the nursing station at the HDU, she reportedly took three vials of fentanyl and went into the toilet.
When she did not return for some time, her colleagues went to the toilet and called out to her. With no response from inside, they broke open the door at around 10.30 pm and found Rupali unconscious.
Doctors immediately examined her and shifted her to a hospital bed, but she had already died.
Fentanyl is used in hospitals to sedate patients. Hospital sources said doctors suspect that the drug may have been injected into a vein near the elbow joint. However, the circumstances leading to her death remain unclear.
Police examine circumstances surrounding death
The hospital police outpost was informed soon after the body was found, following which officers from Entally Police Station and the homicide wing of Kolkata Police reached NRS.
Police said Rupali’s colleagues told investigators that she entered the toilet at around 10.20 pm. When she did not come out even by 10.27 pm, they began calling her.
Investigators have so far found no visible injury marks on her body. No suicide note was recovered from the spot either. The post-mortem report is expected to shed more light on the cause of death.
NRS death raises fresh questions on hospital safety
The incident comes two years after the rape and murder of a woman doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in August 2024, which triggered widespread protests and renewed scrutiny of safety measures at government hospitals.
Since then, questions have repeatedly been raised over the implementation of security measures in state-run hospitals. Recent incidents at RG Kar, including a lift accident and the death of an elderly patient while trying to reach a toilet, had also drawn attention to safety and infrastructure concerns.
West Bengal Health minister Shardwat Mukhopadhyay visited NRS on Thursday as police continued their probe into Rupali’s death.