A nurse of a private hospital in West Bengal’s Durgapur was found dead outside a 12-storey residential building on Wednesday evening.

The body of the deceased, identified as Mandira Pal, 24, a native of Bishnupur in Bankura district, was found by other nursing staff inmates outside the boundary wall of the lodging facility at Kanksa around 10 pm when she did not turn up to board the hospital bus around 7.30 pm.

On being alerted, the Kanksa police reached the spot soon and sent the body for a post-mortem examination.

The police said that it remains unclear whether she jumped from the building or fell accidentally, or whether any foul play was involved.

According to her colleagues, Pal, who had night duty, failed to report when the bus arrived to pick up staff members at the rented accommodation facility, prompting them to undertake a search for the missing person. The building is located opposite a private BEd college in the Gopalpur area.

According to police, preliminary investigation suggested it to be a case of suicide, but said the final decision would be taken after the post-mortem.

The police and the private hospital where she worked are yet to issue their official statements on the death of the nurse. Family members have also refused to comment on the issue.

The incident has sparked serious concerns about the safety arrangements in the high-rise residential building. According to sources, the rooftop door of the building often remained open, and there was inadequate surveillance.

The police said they would question her colleagues to know if they had noticed anything unusual in her behaviour, and also her family members, regarding any stress issues that the young woman could have been going through.

The mysterious death of the nurse has triggered serious questions about the safety, security, and accountability of staff accommodations provided by private hospitals in West Bengal.