Chennai Police arrest woman contract worker for killing Covid patient in hospital

Greater Chennai Police on Tuesday arrested a woman contract worker at Rajiv Gandhi Government Hospital for allegedly killing a patient whose body was found days after going missing from the Covid ward.

Rathi Devi from Thiruvottiyur strangled Sunitha (41) to death after taking her from the third floor of Tower 3 on a wheelchair and dumped the body on the eighth floor. Rathi Devi stole money worth Rs 9,500 and a mobile phone from Sunitha, the police said.

Sunitha, hailing from West Tambaram, was admitted due to Covid on May 21 and mysteriously disappeared two days later. The hospital informed Sunitha’s husband Mouli, who works as a faculty member in a private college in Andhra Pradesh, that she was missing.

On May 31, Mouli registered a missing complaint at the C4 police station situated at the hospital complex. Sunitha’s decomposed body was found on the eighth floor of Tower 3 on June 8.

After the post-mortem, the body was handed over to Mouli. The C4 police had told Indianexpress.com that they were analyzing CCTV footage and also questioning healthcare workers.

The police found out that Rathi Devi, on the pretext of scanning purposes, took Sunitha away in a wheelchair and went up in an emergency lift before committing the crime to seize her money. She dumped the body near the staircase on the eighth floor.