"The English Teacher" by RK Narayan: How far would you agree with the statement: "Dr. Shankar is to be blamed for Susila's death"?

In the timeless classic penned by R. K Narayan "The English Teacher", it is entirely reasonable and sound to regard Susila's death as a pivotal turning point in the novel. Susila's passing on to the netherworld marks a radical change in Krishna's life, and therefore it is valid to term the incident as one which is of "massive consequence and magnitude". What is more befuddling and intriguing is the question of who actually caused her …

…regarded the illness as too predictable but as it turned out, the outcome was nowhere close to what he had expected. In this case, something which he had thought would be very predictable turned out to be a mishap. Placing this incident in juxtaposition with the fallacy of the hermit's prophecy enables one to draw parallels on the theme of unpredictability. It brings forth with it many ironies and paradoxes that are, at times, unfathomable.