A 66-year-old man collapsed and died on Friday morning while queuing for a domestic gas cylinder in Punjab’s Barnala district, police said.
The incident took place in the district’s Sehna village amid reports of a shortage of cooking gas due to the ongoing conflict in West Asia.
The deceased, Bhushan Kumar Mittal, was a resident of Sehna and had arrived at the gas agency at 7:15am to secure a spot in the queue.
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Sehna station house officer (SHO) Renu said that Mittal collapsed at approximately 8am, just minutes before the agency was scheduled to open. Many in the queue had reportedly been waiting since 6am.
Police said that Mittal was 25th in a line that had swelled to over 130 people by the time of the incident.
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Raman Mittal, the deceased’s nephew, said his uncle ran a small grocery shop. He said that the victim had been waiting in the queue for nearly 40 minutes before collapsing. “Local shortages led to this tragedy,” Raman added.
{{/usCountry}}Raman Mittal, the deceased’s nephew, said his uncle ran a small grocery shop. He said that the victim had been waiting in the queue for nearly 40 minutes before collapsing. “Local shortages led to this tragedy,” Raman added.
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The deceased is survived by his wife and a married daughter.