Woman on way to Kanpur hospital dies after being stuck in traffic due to President Kovind’s visit

A woman died in Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur city on Friday as she was not able to reach the hospital on time due to traffic restrictions imposed in view of President Ram Nath Kovind’s visit. The police have apologised for her death.

Vandana Mishra, 50, the chairperson of the women’s wing of the Indian Industries Association’s Kanpur chapter, had been struggling with post-Covid complications, The Indian Express reported. She had recovered from the infection in April.

Mishra had gone to a hospital on Friday for some tests. She returned home by 4 pm but soon began experiencing nausea and uneasiness, the newspaper reported, quoting Alok Agarwal, the chairperson of the Indian Industries Association’s Kanpur division.

Soon after that, Mishra and her family left for the hospital but there was a lot of traffic on the way.

President Kovind had arrived in Kanpur on Friday night, NDTV reported. Due to security reasons, the police reportedly stopped traffic along several roads in the city. One of them was the route that Mishra’s family took to the hospital.

“They [the family] got late and she vomited while in the car,” Agarwal told The Indian Express. “Her family members gave her CPR [cardiopulmonary resuscitation] and tried to save her.” She was declared dead on reaching the hospital.

Kanpur Police chief Asim Arun apologised for Mishra’s death on Twitter. “This is a huge lesson for the future,” he said. “We pledge that our route arrangement will be such that citizens are stopped for the minimum time so that such incidents do not recur.”

In another tweet, the police said Kovind was anguished by Mishra’s death and asked officials to convey his condolences to her family. Police officers met the woman’s family at her funeral.

Two sub inspectors and three constables have been suspended in connection with the incident, according to NDTV. A senior police officer has been directed to investigate the incident.