Coronavirus: Journalist jumps from AIIMS building, dies

New Delhi : A 37-year-old journalist undergoing coronavirus treatment at AIIMS Trauma Center in Delhi jumped from the fourth floor of the building and died on Monday afternoon, said the officials.

He used to work in a Hindi news daily and was survived by his wife and two children in northeast Delhi's Bhajanpura.

At around 2 PM on Monday, the journalist decided to jump from fourth floor of the Trauma Centre and was shifted to ICU, Devender Arya, Deputy Commissioner of Police (southwest) said.

Initial investigation has been started in the matter.

Doctors at Trauma Center tried to revive him but they lost him after he succumbed to his injuries, said authorities.

Soon after the incident, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan asked the AIIMS director to set a panel to probe the matter.

"I ordered AIIMS Director to immediately constitute an official inquiry into this incident, following which a high-level committee has been set up & shall submit its report within 48 hours."

In a statement AIIMS mentioned that the journalist was making positive recovery from coronavirus and was stable in the normal room air. They were planning to shift him in the general ward.

He earlier had surgery for frontal lobe meningioma (a type of brain tumour) at the G B Pant hospital New Delhi in March 2020.

"While he was at the Trauma Centre for treatment of COVID-19 he was having bouts of disorientation for which he was seen by a neurologist and psychiatrist and put on medication.

"The family members were regularly counselled regarding his condition. At around 1.55 pm today, he ran out of TC-1 where he was admitted. Hospital attendants ran after him and tried to stop him. He ran to the fourth floor where he broke a windowpane and jumped out," the hospital said in the statement.

The family, on the other hand, has raised demands of enquiry as they believe the man was very strong mentally and could not take such an extreme step of ending his life.