Jodhpur: Agitating farmers disperse after deceased protester tests COVID positive

Some farmers holding a protest in Rajasthan's Jodhpur district dispersed immediately on Saturday afternoon after they found out that a protester who died a day ago had tested positive for coronavirus, police said.

The farmers from 10 tehsils in Jodhpur were holding the protest here at Manaklao village demanding subsidy in electricity bills and waiver of the power charges of the last 6 months.

They dispersed from the spot allegedly without waiting for the medical team to arrive there for screening, police said.

According to DCP (East) Dharmendra Singh, police had asked the farmers to wait for testing of those who were in contact with the deceased but they did not wait and began leaving the spot.

He said the police advised the farmers to at least be under home quarantine so that they do not pose a health risk to others.

On Friday night, the health of one of the protesters, identified as Pukhraj (22), suddenly deteriorated and he was rushed to hospital where doctors declared him brought dead. Later, his sample returned positive for COVID-19, police said.

The family members of Pukhraj have refused to allow the post-mortem, demanding he be tested again for the virus, they said.

Singh said a case has already been registered against the organisers of the demonstration and police would take further action if it was confirmed in the medical report that the death was caused by coronavirus.