Police said Vedak, who lived in Dahisar with his parents, had been suffering from AIDS for the last eight years and was reportedly undergoing treatment. But his condition deteriorated rapidly in the last few weeks, sources said, and he was so depressed, he didn't even eat properly for the whole of last week. He had also stopped taking regular medicine.

On Wednesday night, his parents called his brother Pramod, who stays in Girgaum, to tell him that Kishor had locked himself in the kitchen and was refusing to open the door. The parents asked Pramod to reach Dahisar quickly and tackle the situation, police said.

Even when Pramod reached Borivli, he found Kishor had not yet opened the door. When there was no responseafter some more knocks, the door of the kitchen was broken, and Kishor's body was found hanging from the ceiling fan. He had used a nylon rope to hang himself. A post-mortem established the cause of death as hanging, police said.

According to Dr I S Gilada, secretary of Indian Health Organisation (IHO), Kishor had come to IHO in November last year and taken treatment for tuberculosis and water collection in lungs. He had given a history of having visited prostitutes since 1985, and was first tested HIV positive in 1992, he added.

Kishor again visited their clinic two months later, and since there was improvement in his condition, his dosage of medicine was reduced, he said. But he didn't visit the clinic after that, and there was no information on his condition, he added. Also, his friend had died of the same disease about three years ago. That probably might have had an effect on him, Gilada said.

This is the first suicide case among 2,400 patients he has treated so far, and it shows special attentionneeds to be paid to persons suffering from this disease, the doctor pointed out. Their clinic often gets AIDS patients with suicidal tendencies, but the counsellor tries to make them think of the good things in their lives, he explained.

It's essential for such patients to get family support and all the encouragement possible, he said. But in some cases the family tends to neglect the patient, who's already facing a social stigma. This results in his complete isolation, Dr Gilada said.