Gujarat: Odhav man dies after ‘mistakenly’ drinking sanitiser

AHMEDABAD: During this Covid-19 pandemic, while hand sanitisers have become ubiquitous, a man from the Odhav area of the city “mistakenly” ingested some and died 11 days later.
According to a statement from city police, 26-year-old Chirag Prajapati died on Monday evening after 11 days at the Asarwa Civil hospital.
He had ingested the hand sanitiser at his home in Laljibhai Chawl in Odhav and suffered severe burns to his internal organs, which led to his death.
The statement says Prajapati had been suffering from mental illness for a long time. “Instead of his medication, he had ingested sanitizer and his condition worsened,” reads the police statement.
Prajapati was taken to Civil Hospital on June 4 and was admitted to an intensive care unit, where he died at around 5pm on Monday. Odhav police registered a case of accidental death and began an investigation.
Sources in Odhav police said the investigation will try to uncover whether Prajapati had conducted suicide or mistakenly ingested the sanitiser. “No doctor prescribes any liquid medication for his illness that looks like hand sanitizer.
The hypothesis that he mistook it for his medication is unpalatable,” said a source in the police.
Another police official said police cops will also investigate if the deceased drank alcohol and if he had taken the sanitiser out of an urge to get intoxicated.