Autopsy conducted at GMC, cause of death awaited; police assure legal action if foul play found; Oppn demands high-level probe
PANAJI
The spectre of revellers collapsing and later dying in mysterious circumstances has come to haunt the organisers of the Sunburn Electronic Dance Music (EDM) festival again.
On Saturday, which was day one of this year’s edition of the controversial EDM festival, a Delhi youth Karan Kashyap (26) died while being treated at Vision Hospital, Mapusa hours after he collapsed at the Dhargal venue while attending the festival around 9.30 pm.
The 26-year-old fell unconscious during the event and was rushed to the private hospital in Mapusa in an ambulance where he died. His body was then sent to the Goa Medical College and Hospital at Bambolim, where an autopsy examination was conducted on Sunday, according to North Goa Superintendent of Police Akshat Kaushal, IPS.
Kaushal said the cause of death will be known only after the detailed autopsy report is available and necessary legal action will be taken if any foul play is found.
At least three past editions of the controversial EDM festival had been marred with similar instances of revellers collapsing at the venues or just outside and then dying.
In 2019, when the event was held at Vagator, three youth had died in similar mysterious circumstances. On day one, two friends from Andhra Pradesh, Sai Prasad Malayala and Venkat Satyanarayana, collapsed while in the queue to enter the venue and were declared dead on arrival at the hospital they were taken to. The next day a Bengaluru youth Sandeep Kotta (24) who fell unconscious at the venue died while undergoing treatment at the hospital.
There were similar mysterious deaths reported in two earlier editions of Sunburn as well.
Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition Yuri Alemao has called for a high-level investigation into the incident, demanding that the State government take action to uncover the truth and prevent similar tragedies.
“Another youth from Delhi dies after attending EDM festival. Government should launch a high-level investigation to know the exact cause of the death. Let us save our next generation from these vices,” Alemao said on learning of Kashyap’s death on Saturday.
Vision hospital medical report reveals severe ‘renal injury’
PANAJI: The medical and death report of Karan Kashyap at the Vision Hospital has recorded severe “renal injury” as one of the causes that led to the youth’s death.
However, the report of the post-mortem autopsy examination conducted by coroners at the Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMC&H) Bambolim has refrained from pin-pointing the reasons for the toxins leading to the injury to his kidneys.
“As is the standard procedure, the viscera has been preserved for further analysis and investigation to a Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL). Also tissues have been preserved for histopathology tests and a final opinion will be given after the results are available,” a GMC&H source said.
