To protest is our democratic right, but keep emotions under control: Shahi Imam

New Delhi, Jun 17: Police Surender Jeet Kaur, Assistant Commissioner of Delhi Police Surender Jeet Kaur, has held herself responsible for the death of her husband Charan Jeet Singh, who succumbed to Covid at a hospital in Delhi.

“My husband didn’t step out of the house when the lockdown started, but I went out daily because of my job… I will never be able to forgive myself,” Kaur on Tuesday, a day after losing her husband.

54-year-old Singh, a resident of Lajpat Nagar and a businessman, is survived by his wife and their 26-year-old son who lives in Canada.

Kaur, 57, ACP (Crimes Against Women) in the South-East district of the Delhi Police, is also ACP (Covid Cell) of the district. On May 20, five days after Kaur tested positive for the virus, her husband Singh tested positive, followed by the ACP’s 80-year-old father on May 24.

All of them had symptoms and while Kaur and Singh were admitted to Indraprastha Apollo hospital, her father was admitted to Max hospital in Saket. On May 26, Kaur returned home after recovering from the virus.

Kaur said, “I last spoke to my husband on May 22 night, when we were both admitted in the hospital in different wards. The doctor called me and said that my husband needs to be put on ventilator support. I had a video call with my husband. He was breathless and told me that his oxygen level was dropping. He showed me the monitor, the doctors in the room, and then said he was having trouble speaking and that he would send me WhatsApp messages.”

A day after he passed away, Kaur recalled the messages that Singh sent her just before being put on ventilator support. “He started sending me details of our finances, accounts… I told him to stop and asked him why he was telling me all this. He said I needed to know… Maybe he feared he wouldn’t come back. I prayed every day, at temples, mosques, churches and gurdwaras for him. I am devastated that he’s gone. We were to move to Canada to live with our son in 2023 after my retirement. We had so many plans.”

Kaur’s brother Maninder Ahluwalia said the hospital tried plasma therapy but Singh didn’t respond to the treatment. “He had diabetes and high BP, but those were always under control. We were hopeful,” he said.

The couple’s son joined on video call from Canada to watch his father’s last journey from the ambulance to the entrance of the crematorium. “My son couldn’t attend his father’s last rites because there are no flights… It’s so unfortunate,” said Kaur.

Friends and family remember Singh as a “jolly, disciplined and brave man”, while Kaur said he was the “perfect partner”. She said, “When I was an SHO-rank officer, I would work for 36 hours straight some days, and he would handle the house and our son who was growing up. I would miss family functions and important occasions but he would always go and make up for my absence. I was able to do this job for decades because of his support.”

On Tuesday afternoon, Singh was cremated in the presence of close family and members of the police fraternity. “The DCP and the Joint CP called me daily to enquire about my husband, other police officers too. I am grateful for their support. They didn’t let me feel alone for a single day,” said Kaur.

Bengaluru, Jun 15: The total number of COVID-19 cases in Karnataka reached the 7,000-mark on Sunday, with the state reporting 176 new cases and five related fatalities, taking the toll to 86.

The day also saw 312 patients getting discharged in the state after recovery while the total number of positive cases in the Udupi district alone breached 1000 cases mark.

As of June 14 evening, cumulatively 7,000 COVID-19 positive cases have been confirmed in the state, which includes 86 deaths and 3,955 discharges, the health department said in its bulletin. It said, out of 2,956 active cases, 2,940 patients are in isolation at designated hospitals and are stable, while 16 are in ICU.

The five dead include- thee from Bengaluru urban, and one each from Dakshina Kannada and Bidar. The three from Bengaluru include- two women aged 57 and 60 respectively and a man who was 50 years; while the person who died in Dakshina Kannada was a 24-year-old man.

Also, a 76-year-old man from Bidar, who died at his residence on June 6, later tested positive for COVID-19. Out of 176 new cases, 88 are returnees from other states, the majority of them from neighboring Maharashtra. While 6 are those who returned from other countries.

Among the districts where new cases were reported, Bengaluru urban accounts for 42, Yadgir 22, Udupi 21, Bidar 20, Kalaburagi 13, Dharwad 10, Ballari 8, Kolar 7, Uttara Kannada 6, five each from Mandya and Dakshina Kannada, Bagalkote 4 and Ramanagara 3. Besides, two each from Raichur and Shivamogga, and one each from Belagavi, Hassan, Vijayapura, Bengaluru rural, and Haveri.

Udupi district tops the list of positive cases, with a total of 1,026 infections, followed by Kalaburagi 896 and Yadgir 809.

Among discharges also Udupi tops the list with total of 713 discharges, followed by Kalaburagi 427 and Bengaluru urban 327. A total of 4,43,969 samples were tested so far, out of which 7,451 were tested on Sunday alone. So far 4,27,608 samples have been reported as negative, and out of the 6,835 were reported negative today.

New Delhi, April 3: With 478 cases reported in the last 24 hours, the highest spike so far, India's tally of positive coronavirus cases on Friday rose to 2,547 including 162 cured/discharged and 62 deaths, as per the latest data of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

As many as 647 positive coronavirus cases have been reported so far from across 14 States whose linkage can be traced to the Tablighi Jamaat cluster at Nizamuddin, the Centre said on Friday.

"A total of 647 cases of positive coronavirus cases have been reported from across 14 States whose linkage can be traced to the Tablighi Jamaat cluster at Nizamuddin," Lav Aggarwal, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said.

"The cases can be traced in Andaman and Nicobar, Assam, Delhi, Himachal, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh," added Aggarwal.

The Tablighi Jamaat event in Delhi has emerged as a hotspot for COVID-19 after several positive cases from across India were linked to the gathering including deaths in Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Telangana.

An FIR was earlier registered against Tablighi Jamaat head Maulana Saad and others under the Epidemic Disease Act 1897, in the national capital.