A woman in Kanpur lost her life on Friday night as she and her family were reportedly stuck in the traffic and got delayed due to restrictions during President Ram Nath Kovind’s visit to the city.
According to a report by ndtv.com, Vandana Mishra, the 50-year-old woman who died, was the head of the women's wing of the Kanpur chapter of the Indian Association of Industries. Her family had rushed her to a private hospital last night after she fell seriously ill.Mishra had recovered from Covid-19 recently, the report says.
Mishra’s emergency visit to the hospital coincided with the time when Kovind was visiting Kanpur and police stopped traffic along the route she was travelling.
Reports quoted by ndtv.com say the situation led to a traffic pile-up and an inordinate delay, and Mishra was pronounced dead on reaching the hospital.
Taking note of the incident, the Kanpur Police apologised on Saturday.
"On behalf of Kanpur Police and myself, I am deeply sorry about the demise of Vandana Mishra. This is a big lesson for the future. We pledge our 'route' system will be such that citizens are held up for the shortest possible time so such incidents are not repeated," Kanpur Police Commissioner Asim Arun tweeted.
In another tweet, the Commissionarate of Kanpur said that Kovind was disturbed by the incident. “The President called the police commissioner and the district magistrate and enquired about the incident. He asked officials to personally convey his condolences to the family,” they said.
A senior police official has been asked to carry out an inquiry, and sub-inspector Sushil Kumar and three constables have been suspended over the incident for holding traffic for longer than needed.
The president is on a three-day visit to his birthplace, Kanpur, and reached there on Friday by train.