Hyderabad: The death of Nittala Avinash using nitrogen gas three days ago was the second time such a method was used in the city. Techie Lucky Gupta Agarwal ended his life in a similar manner last year after a social app he developed failed to take off. This has now turned attention to the easy availability of nitrogen in the market. A health expert said nitrogen gas blocks oxygen supply immediately and expels oxygen from the lungs in less than a minute.
“Though it is non-toxic, it will affect brain functioning, which leads to failure of vital organs and death,” said a senior physician. In Avinash’s case the police is using the delivery details on the nitrogen gas cylinder which was recovered from the car to track down the supplier. Nitrogen gas is usually used in the pharma industry and in some processes where biological tissues are stored for analysis.
It is used as a fire controlling element in some industries due to its highly inert chemical nature. The use of nitrogen gas for refilling tyres and cleaning air conditioning ducts is becoming common. Liquid nitrogen is used as a coolant in many laboratories and in the new science called molecular gastronomy. Only persons who hold a licence from the department of explosives can manufacture, sell and use the gas for refilling. But in both incidents of suicide the victims sourced the gas cylinders from an external source. While a 2.5-foot-long cylinder containing one cubical unit of nitrogen gas available for Rs 6,000 with licensed traders, it comes at a little higher price in the market outside.
