Software engineer Anil Kumar Singh’s house at Mahendru in Patna. Picture by Nagendra Kumar Singh

Patna, Jan. 19: A Bangalore-based software engineer, whose ancestral house is in the Mahendru area but was staying at Maurya hotel, died at a hospital last evening with traces of poison in his body.

Anil Kumar Singh, 45, had been in hospital since Tuesday afternoon. His wife Jaya Laxmi, who came to Patna after hearing about Anil’s health, is traceless since morning. She had taken a cab to the Ashok Rajpath area but did not return till late in the evening.

Anil, who had a business of aluminium products in Bangalore besides his job with a software firm, had checked in Maurya hotel on January 15, police said today. He had settled in Bangalore over a decade ago. Surprisingly, he never stayed at the Mahendru house with his father when he visited Patna.

Around 12noon on January 17, Anil complained of some sickness after having food. He was in room number 425 of the hotel then.

“When he felt uneasy, he must have called up his father, Badri Prasad. He (Prasad) came to the reception of the hotel and said his son needed medical help. We got his blood pressure checked. Around 3pm, he was shifted to Ruben Hospital. Anil was one of our regular guests,” said B.D. Singh, the general manager of Maurya hotel.

Prasad is a retired district education officer and has a house in the Mahendru area.

“Anil was admitted to the intensive care unit of the hospital. In the afternoon of January 18, his wife Jaya Laxmi came to Patna. She went to the hospital around 3pm. Anil was still unconscious. Around 7pm the same day, the doctors attending to him declared him dead,” an officer at the Gandhi Maidan police station told The Telegraph.

His body has been sent to Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) for autopsy. “Doctors attending to him in the hospital, which is very close to the hotel where he was putting up, said they had found some traces of poison in his system. It appears he died of some sort of poisoning. Besides, we are also probing why the man did not stay at his own house,” the officer said hinting at some foul play.

Anil’s room in the hotel was thoroughly checked today. “We did not find any suicide note. We are awaiting the post-mortem report. Besides, we do not have any idea where Anil’s wife is at present,” he added.

“The police found some medicines to treat acidity from Anil’s baggage. We suspect that the man was suffering from some ailments,” the officer added. Anil’s heath condition could not be confirmed as his wife could not be contacted despite repeated attempts.

Singh said Jaya had spent the Wednesday night at room number 425, which Anil had booked. “This morning, she took a hotel cab that dropped her on Ashok Rajpath. We don’t have any idea where she has gone,” the general manager of Maurya hotel said. Jaya is from Karnataka.

Anil had married Jaya in 2000 and they have a six-year-old daughter. Jaya is expecting her second child.

Police were not able to confirm if Anil’s daughter had also come with Jaya or not. They said search was on to locate the woman.

On the other hand, Anil’s father refused to talk about his son’s death. “We don’t want to say anything at this moment. We request you not to bother us. It is a case of food poisoning. My wife died in 2008. At present, we don’t have anybody at home who can even cook. I get food delivered to my home.

Whenever Anil came to Patna, he stayed in the hotel,” said Prasad. He has another son who is mentally challenged. His daughter is based in Delhi and reached Patna today on learning of Anil’s death.