Indore (Madhya Pradesh): While most people who consume poison desperately seek help at a hospital's emergency ward, 45-year-old Lokendra Singh Tomar walked into a mortuary instead. He had apparently given up hope of living and wanted his body to serve a purpose after his death.
A resident of Maruti Palace, Tomar had allegedly consumed a poisonous substance outside the District Hospital on Monday. But instead of seeking medical attention, he headed straight to the mortuary, leaving those present stunned by his unusual request.
He told people that he no longer wished to live and wanted his body to be handed over to medical students after his death so they could use it for practical training.
Tomar, a welding worker, had reached the district hospital around 4 pm. He told people there that he had consumed a sulphas tablet. When asked what had driven him to take such a step, he spoke of his growing disillusionment with life and the pain he claimed to have endured within his family.
What made the incident particularly poignant was his final message to his wife, conveyed through their son. In a video recorded by people at the hospital, Tomar said he had met his son and asked him to seek forgiveness from his mother on his behalf.
I have just met my son and told him that I have made mistakes. I asked him to convey my apologies to his mother. I have developed a hatred for human life. I don't want to live anymore.
I am extremely troubled, especially by my own family members. They have humiliated me so much that I feel death is better than living with this humiliation, he said.
His words reflected the anguish he described in what turned out to be his final hours.
I don't want to be saved. I don't want to live
Even as people at the hospital tried to persuade him to seek treatment, Tomar repeatedly refused help.
I don't want to be saved. I don't want to live anymore, he told those who offered to get him admitted, assuring him that his life could still be saved.
Despite his reluctance, people eventually got him admitted to the District Hospital. As his condition deteriorated, doctors referred him to MY Hospital, where he died during treatment.
Tomar is survived by a son and a married daughter. Police suspect that a family dispute may have been behind his decision, although the circumstances leading to his death are still being investigated.
