Bareilly (Uttar Pradesh), April 2 A 23-year-old migrant labourer who escaped from a quarantine centre to meet his family in Lakhimpur, allegedly committed suicide after learning that police were searching for him.
The victim, youngest among six siblings, was quarantined at a school on the village outskirts on returning from Gurugram on March 28.
According to police, he had escaped from the quarantine centre twice to meet his family, but officials thwarted his attempts on both the occasion and brought him back to the camp.
On Tuesday afternoon, police said he had again escaped from the camp and went to village to meet his family. When he learnt that the police were looking for him, he fled from his house and, later, his body was found hanging on the village outskirts.
The police added the body has been sent for autopsy, and district administration would provide compensation to the bereaved family.
Mitauli SDM Digvijay Singh said that, "The victim was quarantined following the government's directions. We even informed him that isolation is a precautionary measure to ensure the safety of his family members and neighbours. The victim had fled from the camp to meet his family. When police reached the village searching for him, he escaped and was later found hanging."
Maigalganj police station SHO Chandrakant Singh said, "It appears that the victim took the extreme step as he started panicking at the quarantine centre despite repeated attempts by officials to make him understand that it was just a precautionary measure. Authorities have provided proper food and other necessary facilities at the centre. We are investigating the matter and a case will be registered based on the findings."
This is the fifth Corona related suicide in Uttar Pradesh.
On Tuesday, a farmer, who was suffering from fever and cold, committed suicide to 'save his entire village from being infected with Corona virus'. The incident took place in Mathura.
Earlier on March 24, a young man who had been suffering from fever and cough, committed suicide in Kanpur by hanging himself because he feared he was suffering from Corona virus.
Last month, in two separate incidents, two youths had committed suicide in Hapur and Bareilly because they also believed that they were suffering from the deadly virus.
( With inputs from IANS )