Rats ‘kill’ man in Rajajinagar hospital

In a bizarre incident, a 34-year-old man who died at a private nursing home at Rajajinagar, was found to have been attacked by rats. Kannappa, a resident of Magadi Road and the owner of a juice stall, had been admitted to the hospital after he fell in his shop and sustained an injury to the right eye.

Since he was an alcoholic, his brother and relatives admitted him to Spandana Nursing Home’s de-addiction centre in Rajajinagar on Monday and left for home. In their complaint to the police, Kannappa’s relatives said he was fine when they left him, but the hospital authorities said he passed away at 4 am and shifted the body to Victoria Hospital.

Sensing something amiss, the family members inspected the body and found injuries on the eye, lips and cheek.

They staged a protest in front of the hospital, alleging that the hospital tried to steal Kannappa’s eye, and in the process, killed him. The protest was called off after the police stepped in and assured them of bringing the guilty to book.

However, the police said a postmortem conducted on the body showed that rats had nibbled on the man’s lip, cheek and left eye. It was not immediately clear whether Kanappa’s condition deteriorated as a result of the rat attack or the rodents struck after he died.

Dr Mahesh, who is in charge of the nursing home, said Kannappa died due to blood pressure and pulse variation. “The allegation made by his family is false and we are ready to face any legal action, if we are found to be at fault,” he said. The police registered a case of suspicious death and are investigating.