2 die at Singhu, one due to Covid

Sonepat (Haryana), May 19

Two farmers from Punjab, who were part of the group protesting here against the new farm laws, passed away with one of them found Covid positive, officials said on Wednesday.

The two farmers – Balbir Singh (50) and Mahender Singh (70) – residents of Patiala and Ludhiana respectively – died on Tuesday.

They were part of the group protesting near the Singhu Border.

Sonepat’s Chief Medical Officer Jaswant Singh Punia said Balbir had been suffering from fever for a couple of days.

He was declared brought dead at a government hospital and a test revealed that he had COVID, said Punia.

Rai Station House Officer (SHO) Bijender Singh, however, said they were yet to receive the report from the health officials.

Mahender’s body was sent for post-mortem and the exact cause of his death was yet to be ascertained, said Kundli SHO Ravi Kumar.

Thousands of farmers from Punjab, Haryana and elsewhere have been protesting at various border points near Delhi, including Singhu and Tikri, for the past six months demanding rollback of the Centre’s new farm laws. PTI