A police head constable who had tested positive for COVID-19 ended his life at a hospital in Moradabad on Saturday evening, police said. The deceased has been identified as Diwakar Sharma, 52, and was posted at police complaint’s desk.
Notably, this is the third death by suicide in the Teerthankar Medical College & Research Centre in the last one month. It is a designated COVID-19 facility meant to treat patients from across the Moradabad divison.
On August 19, a 28-year-old COVID-19 positive girl ended her life and on August 28, a 42-year-old bank manager took a similar step. The local police had termed them both as suicide cases.
Amit Anand, Superintendent of Police (City), Moradabad, said doctors treating the head constable had told the police that he was “psychologically unstable” after he learnt about his condition. He confirmed that it was the third case of death by suicide in the private hospital. “We are looking into the matter and would update if the investigation revealed any gaps,” he said.
Preeti Jaiswal, Additional District Magistrate (Finance), who is the nodal officer of COVID-19 control centre in the district, said the hospital was a 500-bed L3 facility acquired by the government. “Here, only those patients who require close monitoring are admitted. Right now, around 300 patients are there in the hospital. Some people get paranoid, perhaps because of false information circulating on social media. The girl ended her life even before she was properly admitted. Preliminary reports suggest that the constable fought with the medical staff before he took the extreme step around 11 p.m.”
She said there were two counsellors but still three such incidents had happened which was “unfortunate”. “We are looking into ways to prevent such incidents,” she said.
Suicide prevention helpline: Sanjivini Society for Mental Health, Telephone: 011-40769002, Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-7.30 p.m.
