Indian man (29) died from hypothermia after spending six hours leaning against utility box

Seán McCárthaigh

A young man died from hypothermia after spending six hours leaning against a utility box on a Dublin street before collapsing in December 2024, just days before he was due to fly home to India permanently, an inquest has heard.

Vamsi Gutta (29) was pronounced dead at the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital in Dublin a few hours after he was discovered unconscious on a cycle track on Parkgate Street, Dublin 8, on December 14th 2024.

Gutta, of no fixed abode, who had previously been living in Church Road, East Wall, Dublin, had left the Mater where he was a patient the previous day and just four days before he was scheduled to take a flight to return home to live in his native India.

Although the deceased had been described as unsteady on his feet on CCTV footage, a postmortem found no evidence of alcohol or drugs in his body.

He had been named as a suspect in a report in the Sunday Times in August 2024 for defrauding over 50 of his compatriots out of around €100,000 through money-transfer, rental and immigration scams.

A sister of the deceased, Vani Prasanna Gutta, gave evidence via videolink from India of formally identifying her brother’s body to gardaí.

A sitting of Dublin District Coroner’s Court on Tuesday heard Gutta had also been living in Ireland at the time, but was based in Donegal.

Gutta told coroner Cróna Gallagher that her brother had come to Ireland in September 2021 but that she had not seen him since January 2023.

The witness said she believed he had been working as an accountant in Dublin.

Asked if Gutta had any health problems, she replied that he was obese and drank alcohol at weekends.

Gutta said she only spoke on the phone to her brother when he needed something from her and she recalled having to talk to “some strangers” about issues he had with them.

She said she had no idea that her brother had spent some time in a hospital in Ireland.

The inquest heard CCTV footage recovered by gardaí following his death showed Mr Gutta unsteady on his feet at Dillon’s Pub on  Parkgate Street at 10.39pm on December 13th, 2024.

In a statement, Garda Ciaran Rogers said the deceased could be seen moving along the street holding onto lamp posts and railings.

He said Mr Gutta remained static for six hours leaning on an electricity box outside the Phoenix Park Hotel on Parkgate Street until he fell to the ground at 4.47am the following morning.

Garda Loughlin McHugh confirmed that there was no suspicion of foul play in relation to Mr Gutta’s death.

The inquest heard that the deceased had no interactions with passers-by while he was on Parkgate Street before a passing taxi driver noticed him on the ground and alerted the emergency services.

A postmortem confirmed he had died as a result of hypothermia, with his body temperature recorded at 24 degrees on arrival at the Mater.

Dr Gallagher said she had also received medical reports which showed Mr Gutta had been a patient in the Mater between July and September 2024 for suspected tuberculosis.

The coroner said Mr Gutta was back in the hospital in November 2024 during which time he told doctors that he wanted to return to India and work was begun on a repatriation plan for the patient.

Dr Gallagher said he was readmitted on November 20th, 2024 with hypothermia and his condition appeared to be responding to treatment while he was waiting to take a flight back to India on December 17, 2024.

However, she said the patient prematurely left the hospital without warning on December 13th, 2024 before the subsequent tragic event.

The coroner observed that Mr Gutta’s general poor health may have affected his decision-making when it came to seeking help or calling an ambulance.

Thanking the staff at the Mater, Ms Gutta expressed regret that there may have been a bit of negligence on her part and her family in how they responded to calls from her brother claiming he was unwell.

Recording a verdict of death by misadventure, Dr Gallagher offered her condolences to the family of the deceased on what she acknowledged was their “terrible shock at such a tragic death.”

The newspaper article about the deceased had claimed he had solicited funds from unsuspecting victims, using various guises, by offering rental accommodation to Indian students planning to study in Ireland.

It claimed Mr Gutta was the subject of complaints to several Garda stations about alleged fraud.

Gardaí were investigating claims that he targeted his victims online via a social media group for Indians living in Ireland by asking for loans that were never repaid or money in return for services that were never provided.

They included offering to help people with money transfers, finding jobs or living accommodation or sorting out immigration documentation.

In other cases, he would seek financial assistance after spinning a story about being short of money or having a vehicle impounded by gardaí.

Most cases involved sums of between €200 and €2,000.