Shimla: In a tragic moment, 37-year-old, Mohammad Dilshad hanged himself to death in Himachal Pradesh’s Una district on Sunday morning. Despite testing negative, villagers allegedly taunted him over the spread of coronavirus post the Tablighi Jamaat congregation in New Delhi.
Dilshad, committed suicide under a shed at his residence in Una’s Bangarh village, a day after health officials dropped him at his village following his negative report, an official said.
Tested Negative
He was taken to a quarantine facility a few days ago where he tested negative for the disease.
Una Sadar SHO Darshan Singh said Dilshad was one of the contacts of a Tablighi Jamaat member who had returned from New Delhi’s Nizamuddin.
Discriminated, boycotted
Commenting on it, DGP Sita Ram Mardi in a recorded message on social media said, “Some villagers pointed out that this man was a suspected COVID-19 patient. He was quarantined and tested negative for the infection. When he returned to his village, he was discriminated against and socially boycotted by villagers. At this, he committed suicide.”
However, the SHO told PTI that “nothing like discrimination or social boycott came to their notice during investigation”.
“Members of his family did not level any such allegations. The investigating officer recorded statements of his two relatives but they did not state anything like this in their statements,” he added.
His post-mortem is being conducted and police have initiated inquest proceedings under Section 174 of CrPC in this regard, he added.
No social discrimination
The DGP has urged people to maintain social distancing (to check the spread of COVID-19), which “does not mean social discrimination”.
Asking people to maintain harmony, the DGP said, “Such behaviour is not good.”