Medical College and Hospital: Corpse on the doorstep. A Telegraph picture

A 75-year-old woman, who was admitted to Medical College and Hospital after she went missing from her home, was found dead at the hospital’s gate on Monday afternoon.

There was no injury on Fatima Biwi’s body, said police. The hospital authorities could not explain how she managed to get out of the ward.

Fatima’s son Mohammad Sabir saw her body on television news and contacted the hospital authorities and the police. He said his mother had gone missing from their home in Dakshindari, Lake Town, on February 3.

“She took Rs 2 from my sister-in-law before stepping out of the house around 11.30am. She used to have tea several times a day, so we thought she was going to a tea stall in the locality. But my mother never came back. She was quite healthy, though her memory was failing,” said Sabir.

The family had been visiting police stations, railway stations and hospitals for information about her.

Last Saturday, officers from Jorasanko police station found Fatima Biwi lying by the side of the road and admitted her to the hospital as an unknown patient. She was kept in the observation ward.

Nobody saw her slipping out on Monday. The body was found near the hospital’s main gate around 1.30pm.

“We are investigating how she managed to get out of the ward,” said Anup Roy, the medical superintendent of the hospital. “The woman may have been suffering from dementia. Her death was probably caused by a sudden cardiac arrest,” said a police officer.