Sunburn death: GMC prelim report points to drug overdose

Panaji: The preliminary report submitted by Goa Medical College to Goa police shows that the 26-year-old Delhi youth who died on Sunday at a Mapusa hospital after he was rushed there from Sunburn, an electronic dance music (EDM) festival on Saturday night, is allegedly suspected to have had a drug overdose.

The report, shared with police, states that Karan Kashyap had an acute renal injury, pulmonary edema and cerebral edema. “It is a classic case of drug overdose,” a source from GMC told TOI.

Though the postmortem of Kashyap done at GMC on Sunday has not revealed the cause of death, the primary report has confirmed the presence of five different drugs that purportedly proved fatal.

“We suspect Kashyap had ingested at least four to five tablets of drugs, which were a mix of other drugs. In addition, he had consumed alcohol. The combination proved lethal,” the source said.

Kashyap’s blood sample, as per the report, showed the presence of fentanyl (for pain relief), benzodiazepine (a depressant drug), amphetamine (a stimulant) and methamphetamine (a recreational or performance-enhancing drug). “Had Kashyap not consumed alcohol along with the drugs, he would have had some chances of survival,” the source said.

Earlier, GMC said police surgeon Dr Girish Kamat from the department of forensic medicine and toxicology conducted the postmortem examination and “certified that the cause of death is kept pending for chemical analysis of preserved viscera and histopathological examination of the tissues retained”.

Police said the body has been handed over to the family.

Goa police had received a call from a private hospital in Mapusa on Sunday that Kashyap, who was admitted in the ICU, had died.

“During the inquiry with the friends of the deceased, it was revealed that on Saturday, Kashyap, along with his friends, attended the Sunburn party at Dhargalim,” North Goa SP Akshat Kaushal had said.

“At approximately 9.45pm (on Saturday), he became unconscious during the event. He was immediately shifted to a private hospital by an ambulance. Despite undergoing treatment, he passed away,” Kaushal said.

Pernem police have registered a case of unnatural death.


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