British national found dead in Varanasi lodge

VARANASI: A UK national identified as John George Dowson, 32, was found dead in the toilet of his room in a lodge where he was staying in Shivala area under Bhelupur

VARANASI: A UK national identified as John George Dowson, 32, was found dead in the toilet of his room in a lodge where he was staying in Shivala area under Bhelupur police station here, police said on Tuesday. They added that Dowson arrived here from Nepal on Sunday.

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Police said the deceased was identified from his passport. He returned to his room late on Monday. Another tourist, who became friendly with him, was also in his room, they said.

During early hours on Tuesday, John went to the toilet. When he didn’t come out for about an hour, the other tourist knocked at the door but there was no response. Then he called the hotel staff, the police said. Later, they broke open the door and saw Dowson in an unconscious state. The police said the lodge officials rushed him to a hospital where doctors declared him brought dead. The police said there was no injury mark on his body.

Bhelupur inspector Ajit Kumar Mishra said, “The body has been sent for post-mortem. The exact cause of his death will be clear from the report.” Meanwhile, police have informed the British high commission officials in Delhi about the incident.