British citizen of Indian origin found dead in Patna hotel

Patna: A British citizen of Indian origin was found dead in a hotel room in Jakkanpur area of Patna on Monday evening. The deceased was identified as Ajay Kumar Sharma (76), a retired official from the electricity department in England.

He was originally from Nalanda district in Bihar and had renounced his Indian citizenship sometime back.


The matter came to light when Ajay was not seen outside his room and he did not even respond to calls or knocks on his door. Concern was raised when his driver, who was scheduled to take him, repeatedly called the hotel, inquiring why the guest was not answering his phone calls. The hotel staff reported the matter to the local police.

Jakkanpur SHO, Rituraj Kumar Singh, told reporters on Tuesday that police reached the hotel with the FSL team. They broke the door and found Ajay lying on the bed dead, he said. According to information, he was staying in the hotel since Jan 18 and had come to Patna to sell his property before returning to the UK. “Both his sons also live in the UK,” he said.

The SHO said prima facie it appears that the man died due to poor health or suffocation. “A day earlier, upon returning to his room, he informed the staff that he was not feeling well and requested some fruits instead of a full meal,” said the SHO.

The FSL team collected evidence from the room, and the body was sent for postmortem to the PMCH. The police informed his family members and prepared a seizure list of the deceased’s belongings, including documents, Indian and British currencies.

Police, including Patna Sadar ASP Abhinav Kumar, also arrived at the hotel and questioned staff and the owner. They reviewed CCTV footage and the hotel’s entry and exit register. A suitcase containing details about his family members was recovered near the body.

No FIR was registered as Ajay’s family members are in the UK, said police.