Infected man found hanging at Garhwa Covid care centre

A 29-year-old infected man admitted at a Covid care centre in Garhwa district was found hanging from an iron grill on Monday, police said, adding that it was a probable case of death by suicide

A 29-year-old infected man admitted at a Covid care centre in Garhwa district was found hanging from an iron grill on Monday, police said, adding that it was a probable case of death by suicide.

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Patients at facility in Garhwa Sadar Hospital alerted authorities of the incident on Monday morning. Taking cognizance, state Cabinet minister Mithilesh Thakur directed the district administration to conduct a thorough probe in the matter. “The deputy commissioner has been asked to conduct a thorough probe. Those found guilty in the inquiry report will not be spared,” the minister wrote on social media platform Twitter.

The deceased was a resident of Karkata village under Manjhianw police station area of the district. He was admitted to the Covid-19 centre on April 14 after testing positive. According to other patients admitted in the same ward as his, the deceased man was complaining of suffocation on Sunday and demanded that oxygen be given to him

Garhwa superintendent of police (SP) Shrikant S Khotre said, “Prima facie, it appears to be a case of suicide. However, before arriving at any conclusion, we are waiting for autopsy report and findings of a detailed investigation that is presently underway.”

Meanwhile, Garhwa deputy commissioner (DC) Rajesh Pathak formed a medical board for conducting postmortem examination of the body. Besides, the health workers on duty at the time of the incident were also issued show cause notices for failing to notice the development, civil surgeon Dr Dinesh Singh said

“The man also looked restless and was crying on Sunday. But unfortunately, no one heeded to his persistent demand for oxygen,” said one of the patients in his ward.