“We will know the real reason behind the deaths only after the police investigations are over. However, for now we suspect the gas emissions from the geyser,” a relative of the deceased told our City Spidey reporter.
The picture has been used for representational purpose only
Exactly a week ago, a couple was found dead on the bathroom floor of their apartment in the Gyan Khand area of Indirapuram. The cause of the mysterious deaths have not been ascertained even today.
When City Spidey approached the family members of the deceased an unusual but convincing theory came to light. According to them, carbon monoxide emissions from the geyser installed in the bathroom, could have killed the couple.
“We can come to know the real reason only after the police investigations are over. However, for now we suspect the gas emissions from the geyser. We have come across several similar incidents from old newspaper reports,” said Raghu Goel, a relative of the deceased. According to family members, the emissions could have easily turned fatal as the window and the ventilator of the bathroom were also shut at the time of the incident.
On March 2, Neeraj and Ruchi Singhania had locked themselves inside their bedroom at around 6.30 pm after playing holi with the rest of the family. However, at around 9.30 pm when the couple did not respond to calls for dinner, Neeraj’s younger brother peeked through the bathroom window to investigate. He could see a portion of his sister in law’s feet lying motionless on the ground. Family members later broke open the door and found the couple lying nude and motionless inside the bathroom.
Could there be any truth in the assumptions of the family members? Could carbon monoxide emissions actually have caused the deaths?
For starters, investigations of several mysterious bathroom deaths have established that carbon monoxide emissions generated from gas geysers were the cause.
Incidentally, a research paper on the subject, which had appeared in the Indian Journal of Critical Care Medicine in 2009, offers a word of caution. "Carbon monoxide (CO) is a colourless, odourless, tasteless, non-irritating, but significantly toxic gas. It is produced when organic matter is combusted in the absence of sufficient oxygen. Symptoms of mild poisoning include headaches, vertigo and flu like effects, whereas larger exposures can lead to significant toxicity of the central nervous system (CNS), heart, and even death,” the paper reads.
Carbon monoxide (CO) is one of the leading causes of accidental poisonings. Experts agree that it is difficult to estimate the incidence of CO poisoning cases, because the symptoms resemble many other common ailments.
The post mortem examinations of both the bodies have been inconclusive and could not ascertain the reason behind the deaths.
Although officials of the Ghaziabad Police have refrained from commenting on the gas geyser theory, they maintained that the police had a few leads and investigation is going on. Officials further said that visceral organs of both the bodies have been preserved and the report of their study can ascertain the cause of the deaths.
