Suffocation from ‘angithi’ smoke reason behind Gurugram club deaths

The cause behind the death of a brother of a club owner might be the result of a cocktail of carbon monoxide and liquor, doctor who conducted the post-mortem said on Tuesday.

A 50-year-old man and a woman were found dead, with two other women unconscious, inside a cabin in a DLF Phase III club on Sunday.

Police have since suspected that the deaths may have been caused by smoke from a brazier or some heater inside the club.

The body of Sanjeev Joshi was handed over to his family after the post-mortem, while the family of Ankita, 30, who too died in the incident, was yet to come from Odisha.

Her post-mortem will be conducted on Wednesday, Dr Deepak Mathur, a member of the board of doctors which conducted the post-mortem, said.

“The other two victims of suffocation are still being treated and one of them is out of danger now. Both are sisters and are from Uttar Pradesh,” Vikas Kaushik, ACP, DLF, said.

The two sisters are 25 and 23 years old, with the older one working as a sales executive and the younger one as a nurse at a private hospital’s office, he said.

According to the police, the four had gone to Knite Ryder club to celebrate the birthday of one of the sisters, the nurse.

The cabin, where they had gathered around 2 am on Monday, had no ventilation. Due to the cold, an ‘angithi’ – a type of stove was lit, they said.

Because Sanjeev Joshi was the brother of the club’s owner Rajan Joshi, members of the staff did not disturb or check on them, and left for their homes, police had earlier said.

On Monday, around 5 pm, when the club was being cleaned, the staff found that the room was filled with smoke and informed the club’s owner, they had said.

The owner helped rush all four to a private hospital where Sanjeev Joshi, his brother, and the woman were declared as brought dead.

The nurse and her sister were well known to Sanjeev Joshi, while Ankita had reportedly been meeting him for the first time, police said.

“The two sisters are stable and they will be discharged soon from the hospital and then we will record their statements,” ACP Kaushik said.