Residents of Basaveshwara Nagar started panicking on Thursday morning after finding a body in a playground. Shopkeepers near Ambedkar playground initially thought the man was sleeping on a bench and tried to wake him up.
As word spread, it triggered fears that he may have contracted COVID-19. The police reached the spot and a call was placed for an ambulance. However, in the backdrop of a rise in the number of cases, an ambulance arrived over six hours later.
By then, the police had identified the deceased as Paramesh, 38. “He was a chronic alcoholic who worked in a private factory. He had walked out of his home two years ago and had since then been living alone,” said the police.
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As the news spread, his brothers claimed the body. It was shifted to Victoria hospital for an autopsy and a COVID-19 test.