BHAIRAHAWA, JUNE 17

The swab sample of 45-year-old Dev Bahadur BK, who committed suicide by hanging in the quarantine of Hari Secondary School in Sitganga Municipality, Arghakhanchi, tested positive for coronavirus.

Having tested positive in the rapid diagnostic test, BK’s swab sample was collected and sent to Bhairahawa for PCR test 11 days ago.

BK committed suicide in the quarantine last night.

“Reports of 49 people had come out positive today,” said Dr Rajendra Giri of Bhairahawa laboratory.

Deceased BK had returned home from Punjab on May 23. Since then, he had stayed in the quarantine.

Tuesday marked 24 days since he was kept in the quarantine. It is suspected that BK might have committed suicide due to delay in the test report, lack of good food at the quarantine and discrimination meted out on him there. Two more people used to stay with BK in the quarantine. Their reports were also positive. “BK was found hanging from a tree,” said Arghakhanchi DSP Madhav Budhathoki.

BK used to work in Punjab.

There are six members in his family. With the detection of COVID-19, District Security Committee has started preparation to cremate his body without conducting post-mortem.

Arghakhanchi CDO Bijayaraj Poudel said an investigation had been launched to ascertain the cause of suicide.

The home ministry is yet to decide whether or not to include BK in the list of COVID-19 deaths.

Earlier, one person had succumbed to COVID in the district. With detection of corona in 49 people today, the total number of COVID cases has jumped to 107 in the district.

A version of this article appears in e-paper on June 18, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.