COVID-19 patient found dead at Gujarat bus stand died of lung collapse, says IAS officer's probe

Ganpat Makwana, a 67-year-old coronavirus patient, who was found dead at a bus stand last week, is said to have died due to lung collapse, a report prepared by an IAS officer on the instruction of Chief Minister Vijay Rupani has revealed. The report, which is yet to be made public, has also given "clean chit" to the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital which had discharged the patient since he didn't have symptoms.

Following reports, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani ordered an inquiry to be conducted by IAS officer and former health secretary J P Gupta who submitted the report last week. When contacted, Gupta confirmed to DH that the report has been submitted but refused to divulge his findings. This incident had evoked outrage after pictures of the patient lying dead unattended went viral of social media platforms.

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"He (Makwana) was dropped at around 7 pm on May 14 near his house and was seen at the bus stand, where he was found dead, at around 11:30 pm. The report says that Makwana's whereabouts for four hours is still a mystery. It is for sure that he didn't go home. The report suggests that he died of lung collapse," said an IAS officer in the know of the report but requested anonymity. He also added, "The civil hospital was not at fault."

Meanwhile, the family members of the deceased remain in the dark about the facts surrounding the circumstances leading to his death. They are still struggling to get postmortem report from VS Hospital where the autopsy was performed. "We didn't receive any call from the government or the civil hospital informing us about how my father died. We are still clueless about how my father reached the bus stand and eventually died," said Makwana's son Kriti.

On May 17, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani had ordered probe into the incident two days after Makwana's dead body was found lying at the bus stand close to his house in Danilimda. The local police sent his body to VS Hospital where the staff informed his relatives about his death. Later, it was revealed that Makwana had tested positive for coronavirus on May 13 and was admitted to the civil hospital. On 14th May, he was discharged since he had no symptoms and was dropped near his house in a special COVID-19 bus.