Delhi man found dead of ‘suspected poisoning’ in car near Gurugram’s IFFCO Chowk Metro station

A police officer privy to details of the investigation said the victim had lost money in gambling, including in poker, and had been under duress after receiving threat calls from people he owed money to.

A 48-year-old man from Delhi was found dead in a car near IFFCO Chowk Metro station, on Saturday night, in suspicious circumstances, the police said.

The police have registered a case of abetment to suicide based on a suicide note recovered from the dead man. (Representational Image) (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Forensic experts said preliminary examination of the body suggested that it could be a case of “suspected poisoning”. The police have registered a case of abetment to suicide based on a suicide note recovered from the trouser pocket of the deceased, identified as Laxmikant Gupta.

Gupta was a resident of East Patel Nagar area of New Delhi and once owned a medical store near Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in Delhi. A police officer privy to details of the investigation said Gupta had lost money in gambling, including in poker, and had been under duress after receiving threat calls from people he owed money to.

Anil Kumar, assistant commissioner of police DLF, said a traffic police officer had noticed the man lying unconscious in the driver’s seat, which had been pushed back, of a Hyundai Creta car between 10-10.30pm on Saturday.

“He was rushed to the Civil Hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival. A note, allegedly written by Gupta, was recovered from his trouser pocket. In the note, Gupta has named certain people who had been threatening him to settle his gambling debts,” ACP Kumar said.

A post-mortem examination was conducted at the Civil Hospital on Sunday. Results of the exam revealed that the victim had no external injuries on his body or signs of assault.

“It seems to be a case of suspected poisoning. However, the exact cause of death would be established once the viscera report is out. The samples have been sent for forensic examination,” said forensic expert Dr Deepak Mathur, who conducted the post-mortem.

Inspector Ram Kumar, station house officer of Sector 29 police station, said Gupta’s wife, Nirmla, in her complaint stated that her husband had started gambling and had been receiving threat calls from people he owed money to.

“No arrests have been made so far and we are investigating the case. The victim’s wife has shared certain phone numbers of the callers and we will round them up,” Kumar said.

The police have registered a case against the accused under sections 306 (abetment of suicide) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code at Sector 29 police station.

The police have identified 11 suspects against whom investigation has been initiated.