Covid-19: Migrant worker placed in home quarantine 10 days ago commits suicide

Markam, who drilled borewells for a living, returned to his village from Tamil Nadu on March 20. After screening him, local health officials had advised him to stay in quarantine at home as a precautionary measure.

A migrant labourer who was placed in home isolation amid the coronavirus pandemic after he returned to his village in Dhamtari district from Tamil Nadu, allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself from a tree on Monday.

According to the Dhamtari police, Ganpat Markam (35) was found hanging from a tree on Monday morning near a pond in his village Tangapani under the Sihawa police station’s jurisdiction.

Markam, who drilled borewells for a living, returned to his village from Tamil Nadu on March 20. After screening him, local health officials had advised him to stay in quarantine at home as a precautionary measure as he had travel history from another state, Dhamtari police said.

Markam was being regularly examined by doctors till March 29 and had no symptoms of coronavirus like cough, cold or fever and was completely normal.

“His postmortem report is awaited,” a senior police official said adding that further investigation into the matter was underway.

According to the deceased’s family members, Markam’s wife died a year back and since then he was distressed about losing her. His son was also living separately and that apparently added to his worries, the police official said.

“These personal issues could be the reason behind the suicide. Although, the exact cause is still to be ascertained,” he added.