A 50-year-old woman from West Tripura committed suicide on Tuesday inside the GB Pant Hospital in Agartala, prompting suspicion that the fear of suffering from Covid-19 may have driven her to the extreme step.

The deceased was admitted to the flu ward of the dedicated Covid hospital on Monday with complaints of fever, respiratory issues and chronic kidney disease.

She was found hanging inside a lavatory of the hospital around 5am, six hours before she tested positive for Covid, a senior official said. The source of her infection is yet to be ascertained. She used to do odd jobs.

Police sources said they suspect she might have taken the extreme step out of fear of testing positive because she had the symptoms of a Covid patient.

Her fear came true at around 11am when her test report was out.

Her body was buried on Tuesday night close to her residence at Matinagar, about 10km southeast of Agartala.

The deceased used to live with her mother after her husband passed away few years ago.

Tripura is the second most affected state in the Northeast after Assam. Tripura, which was leading the Northeast till around May 19, has over 500 cases, 49 of which were reported during the day.

The spike in Tripura cases was mainly because of the spread of the virus among BSF personnel deployed in the Ambassa subdivision of Dhalai district, about 80km north of Agartala. As many as 163 BSF personnel and their relatives had tested positive but all have since recovered.