A 56-year-old plastic surgeon allegedly killed himself on Monday afternoon by jumping off from the terrace of a 12-storey building where he lived. Dr Ashok Raj was the chief of plastic and microvascular services at Sparsh Hospital in Bommasandra and is survived by his wife and two daughters.

According to the police, Ashok Koul was a resident of Sobha Dafodil apartment in Somasundrapalya, HSR Layout.

“According to his neighbours, he came home around 12.45pm to drop off his daughter. They described him to be in a state of panic. The watchman said that he banged the door when he got out and looked worried. He did not go to his flat, he took the elevator straight to the terrace and jumped to death,” ACP Hemant Nimbalkar said.

Four gardeners, who were trimming the grass on the lawn heard a noise. When they looked back, they spotted Dr Ashok’s body.

“The four gardeners, Rangappa, Jagadish, Ramanna and Gangadhar, initially thought that some children had thrown something from one of the windows when they spotted a black shoe. When they went a little further, they heard some residents screaming and spotted his body,” a senior police officer said.

Police are yet to interrogate the family members as no death note was found.

According to a report by TOI, the hospital security guards and housekeeping staff described the surgeon as a soft-spoken gentleman, who asked about their health.

“The family members, relatives and his neighbours say that Dr. Ashok took the step due to some personal reason. One of his relatives told us that he had been upset for over a month and would lock himself in his office. His colleagues had also seen him talk and behave anxiously on the phone sometime last week,” the officer added.

The police have obtained the CCTV footage of Dr. Ashok jumping from the building and are checking his call records.

“Accidental death has been ruled out as of now,” the police said.