Chandigarh: Autopsy inconclusive, viscera sample sent to forensics in businessman’s death at hotel

The deceased, Deepak Mittal, was found “unconscious but breathing” in his room at Hotel Taj on Wednesday morning

The post-mortem examination of a 56-year-old businessman from Raipur, Chhattisgarh, who died during a business trip to the city, remained inconclusive, police said on Thursday. His viscera samples have been sent for analysis as police suspect possible alcohol poisoning.

A viscera sample refers to a collection of soft internal organs and body fluids sent to a forensic science laboratory for toxicological analysis. (HT File)

A viscera sample refers to a collection of soft internal organs and body fluids (such as the stomach, intestines, liver, kidneys, and blood) harvested during an autopsy and sent to a forensic science laboratory for toxicological analysis.

The deceased, Deepak Mittal, was found “unconscious but breathing” in his room at Hotel Taj on Wednesday morning. Hotel staff rushed him to Government Multi-Specialty Hospital, Sector 16, where doctors declared him brought dead.

Mittal had some underlying health conditions, including hypertension, police said. Some liquor bottles were also found in his room.

A woman who had allegedly visited him at the hotel on Tuesday night was questioned but later cleared of suspicion. An official said she had alerted hotel staff about Mittal feeling unwell, following which a waiter went to check on him.

After the post-mortem examination, the body was handed over to his family, who took it to his hometown for cremation.

Mittal, a contractor with the Punjab government, had arrived in Chandigarh on Tuesday to attend a meeting with Markfed officials scheduled for Wednesday. He had recently secured a contract to package flour and pulses and supply ration kits. He was also a director of Sanjay Grain Products Private Limited, a rice-exporting company.