CA kills self using helium gas in Airbnb

A 25-year-old chartered accountant, Dheeraj Kansal, has died by suicide after inhaling helium gas at a guest house near Bengali Market in Central Delhi.

According to the police, the incident took place on Monday. Kansal had purchased the helium gas used in the act through an online platform. The gas, bought for Rs 3,500 from a Ghaziabad-based supplier, was delivered to his residence. A receipt recovered from the scene confirmed that the purchase was premeditated.

Kansal had been staying in an Airbnb flat at 18, Bazar Lane, from July 20 to 28 and was scheduled to check out on Monday. When he failed to do so and a foul odour was detected, the guest house owner alerted authorities.

The police, accompanied by a crime team, forensic experts (FSL) and the fire department, reached the spot. One of the flat’s three entrances was broken open. Kansal’s body was found lying face-up on the bed, with a mask strapped to his face and connected by a thin blue pipe to a gas cylinder. His face was wrapped in transparent plastic and his neck sealed with tape, apparently to prevent the gas from escaping.

The police recovered the cylinder, mask and other related equipment from the scene.

A suicide note was also found, in which Kansal wrote that he had been living alone since the death of his father in 2003. He mentioned that his mother had remarried after his father’s demise and that he had no siblings.