The girl was found writhing in pain near the new Mahatma statue at Gandhi Maidan

Patna, Aug. 23: A 22-year-old girl, who purportedly consumed poison at the Gandhi Maidan today, died during treatment at Patna Medical College and Hospital.

Additional superintendent of police (Town) Balram Choudhary said the girl was identified as a Patna Women’s College student from an identity card she had on her when police rushed to the spot.

Originally from Nalanda district, she lived in a hostel in the city where other girls claimed she was depressed for some time.

An officer at the Gandhi Maidan police station said eyewitnesses at Gandhi Maidan saw the girl writhing in pain near the steps of the new Mahatma Gandhi statue. They informed the police who reached the spot and rushed her to Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH). The police also recovered a small box containing some white powder from the spot she was found and suspect she took poison.

However, nobody saw her take anything and the powder, too, has not yet been tested for poison. Doctors suspect she committed suicide but the body has been sent for post-mortem.

A police officer said: “The incident took place around 3pm. At present, the police cannot say whether the girl was alone or someone else was there with her and ran when she turned for the worse. According to an eyewitness, the girl was found in a bad shape, sitting on one of the steps near the new Mahatma Gandhi statue. She was writhing in agony. People dialled 100 and informed the police. Gandhi Maidan police station was alerted and a team rushed to the spot. She was in a critical condition and couldn’t say a word when the police rushed her to PMCH. At the hospital, the doctors pronounced her dead after around an hour of treatment. They suspect she consumed poison.”

From the identity card found on the victim, the police said she was a BSc Part III student of Patna Women’s College. She was originally from the Parwalpur area of Nalanda district, around 90km south of Patna.

“The police came to know all this from her identity card. It also had the phone number of her residence and family has been informed. A small box, suspected to contain poison, was recovered from the spot she was found. It has been sent for tests at the forensic science laboratory. Once the family arrives, the police will try to know more about the matter,” another police officer said.

Sources said the girl lived in Sulochana Hostel near Patna Women’s College.

An officer said: “The police have spoken to the other girls at the hostel and some of them said she was depressed about something. But we are not coming to any conclusions yet, as investigations need to be carried out. At this moment, we don’t even know whether she was alone at the spot or not. The police will investigate the case thoroughly. The post-mortem report is awaited.”