Delhi cop dies of Covid, kin claim waited hours; hospital denies

His family said his Covid report came back positive on Wednesday and they cremated him later. “We are still in shock… Ajay had been unwell for the last couple of weeks. We took him to a clinic where the doctor said he needs to be on a ventilator. We thought he would get treatment soon but didn’t know that hospitals in Delhi have few beds and ventilators,” said his wife Kuman.

On June 7, the family drove from Ghaziabad to GTB Hospital.

“We thought we would get a bed… we waited for two hours… We told them Ajay is a head constable and needs to be on ventilator support but doctors said no beds are available,” claimed Kuman.

The family then rushed Ajay to Max Hospital in Saket. They waited an hour, but were told there were no ventilators available.

Kuman said, “I called his colleagues who told us to go back to GTB. We went back and I argued with the doctors. Ajay had been working for people every day, he always looked out for others. Couldn’t they do the same for him?”

After some time, the family said doctors admitted Ajay to the ICU and put him on ventilator support.

Her children told her to file a complaint against the hospital, but she said: “It won’t bring Ajay back.”

Doctors at GTB Hospital denied the allegations. Hospital medical superintendent Dr Sunil Kumar told The Indian Express, “If the family files a complaint, we will look into the matter. But we are sure we have enough beds for Covid patients and we would never deny treatment to police personnel… they are like family to us.” Max Hospital did not comment.

On Friday, a 53-year-old assistant sub-inspector died from the virus as well. Anil Mittal, Additional PRO of Delhi Police, said Sanjeev Kumar died at GTB Hospital. He had tested positive earlier and was put on a ventilator after he complained of fever and breathlessness.

He was working with the SOS team of the Crime Branch and had been on a leave for a week.

So far, eight police personnel — three constables, three ASIs and two sub-inspectors — have succumbed to Covid-related complications.