Bengaluru: Businessman found dead, police suspect Covid fear the trigger

BENGALURU: A 35-year-old businessman, down with fever, was found dead under mysterious circumstances in his flat at Brigade Gateway apartment near Yeshwantpur on Friday morning. Police suspect he may have consumed poison fearing he was infected with Covid-19.
Dileep Kumar, who looked after two petrol bunks near Yeshwantpur owned by his father, was found dead in the hall of his flat around 11am when a relative broke open the door after getting no response from inside.Police said they didn’t come across any suicide note. However, family members told police Dileep was anxious as he thought he had contracted coronavirus. His swab samples have been sent for Covid-19 test.
The family members told cops Dileep had been worried as he was repeatedly getting fever since May. “He got it for the first time during May-end. Since then, his temperature had been spiking at regular intervals. On July 6, he was down with fever again. Assuming he was developing Covid-19 symptoms, Dileep sent his wife and son to his in-laws’ house in Hanumanthnagar, ” police said.
On Thursday night, Dileep spoke to his mother Shantamma, saying he had fever. “On Friday morning, a relative visited his house and found it locked from inside. When there was no response, he broke open the door and saw Dileep lying on the floor.,” an investigating officer told TOI.