An 82-year-old homoeopathy doctor and his 36-year-old daughter were found dead at their home in Bhopal on Sunday, with a note urging the authorities to donate their bodies for study, police said.

In a four-page note, purportedly written by doctor Harikishan Sharma, the octogenarian said he had not been able to overcome the grief of losing his wife four years ago and that his daughter, also a homoeopath, had slipped into depression after losing her mother.

Sharma hanged himself, area police inspector Avdhesh Singh Tomar told PTI. It was immediately not clear how Chitra died, he said, adding that post-mortem reports were awaited.

In the suicide note, the homoeopath has wished that their bodies be donated to AIIMS Bhopal to help medical students study human organs, Mr Tomar said.

Sharma wrote in the note that his wife’s death broke him emotionally and he was not keeping well. Also, taking care of his daughter, who was struggling with depression, had become increasingly difficult for him, the police officer said.

The senior citizen was also worried about his daughter’s future after his death, Mr Tomar said.

Sharma had lost his son long back, he said.

The father-daughter duo had worked hard and treated people during the COVID-19 outbreak. They were very helpful to people and police during medical emergencies, he said.

A patient went to Sharma’s home, where he ran a dispensary, but nobody opened the door for half an hour. The patient informed the neighbours who peeped into the house and saw Sharma hanging. They then called the police, Mr Tomar said.

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