LUCKNOW: Stuck in traffic following diversions to facilitate the ongoing visit of President Ram Nath Kovind, the 50-year-old local chairperson of the women wing of the Indian Industries Association (IIA) died due to post-Covid complications in UP's Kanpur on Friday.
While apologizing over Twitter for the tragic incident, the Kanpur Police Commissioner has ordered an investigation into the incident and four cops, including a sub-inspector and three constables, have been suspended. The probe ordered by the Kanpur Police Commissioner Asim Arun will be done by ADCP (Kanpur South).
According to sources, Vandana Mishra, a resident of Kidwai Nagar, was infected with Covid in April, but nearly two months after testing negative for the viral infection, she was still experiencing post-Covid complications, owing to which she had to be taken to hospital on multiple occasions since then.
“On Friday afternoon she went for some clinical examinations and tests at the hospital and returned at around 4.30 pm. But a couple of hours after returning home, she started complaining of nausea and other health problems, after which her kin took her in their car to a premier hospital. On the way to the hospital, the vehicle got stuck in traffic near the GovindPuri flyover. With her condition becoming critical, her kin, who included a doctor, tried to revive her. On reaching the hospital, the doctors declared her dead and added that had she been brought in time to the hospital, she could well have been saved,” an IIA-Kanpur office-bearer said.
A senior Kanpur Police Commissionerate officer said the traffic was diverted or stopped at various places as the Special Presidential Train was to pass through the concerned area of Kanpur City.
The President is on a three-day visit to Kanpur since Friday.
Meanwhile, the Kanpur Police Commissioner Asim Arun in a tweet apologised for the incident, “Personally as well as on behalf of the Kanpur City Police, I apologize for the tragic incident. It has been a major lesson for the future, we take a vow that the route arrangements in future in such situations will be such that commoners are stopped for a minimum possible time to prevent reoccurrence of such tragic incidents.”
In another tweet, Arun wrote: “The Honourable President has expressed his condolences on the untimely death of sister Vandana Mishra. The Kanpur Police Commissioner and the District Magistrate were called by him (the President), where he inquired from them about the incident and conveyed condolences to the bereaved family. Both the senior officers attended the funeral and conveyed the President’s message to the bereaved family.”
The mortal remains of Vandana Mishra were consigned to flames at the electric crematorium in Kanpur on Saturday. Her kin didn’t speak to the media about the incident.