Woman Dies After Traffic Held Up During Prez Kovind's Kanpur Visit; Police Apologise, 3 Suspended

The woman was suffering from post-Covid complications. Her family had rushed her to a private hospital where she was pronounced dead on reaching the hospital.

Image Source: POLICE COMMISSIONERATE KANPUR NAGAR (@kanpurnagarpol/Twitter)

Kanpur: In a shocking incident, a 50-year-old local chairperson of the women wing of the Indian Industries Association (IIA) died after being stuck in traffic following diversions to facilitate the ongoing visit of President Ram Nath Kovind 'Kanpur Dehat' district on Friday.

According to media reports, the woman identified as Vandana Mishra was suffering from post-Covid complications. Her family had rushed her to a private hospital last night after she fell seriously ill.

She was taken to the hospital at the time when President Kovind's arrival was due in Kanpur for which, the police reportedly stopped traffic along the same route Mishra's family was taking. This led to an inordinate delay and the woman was pronounced dead on reaching the hospital.

Taking a note of the incident, the Kanpur Police Commissioner apologised in a Twitter post. "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 chief Asim Arun said.

In another tweet, Arun wrote, "The Honourable President has expressed his condolences on the untimely death of sister Vandana Mishra.  The Kanpur Police Commissioner and the District Magistrate were called by him (the President), where he inquired from them about the incident and conveyed condolences to the bereaved family. Both the senior officers attended the funeral and conveyed the President’s message to the bereaved family."

Kanpur Police chief has ordered an investigation into the incident, which will be conducted by ADCP (Kanpur South). Meanwhile, four cops, including a sub-inspector and three constables, have been suspended. 

President Ram Nath Kovind is on a three-day visit to Uttar Pradesh, and is likely to visit his home village as well. He aarived in Kanpur on Friday night via train.