A woman entrepreneur, who was suffering from post-Covid complications, allegedly died in Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur town after her vehicle was stuck up in a traffic jam following a blockade during President Ram Nath Kovind's visit.
The entrepreneur, later identified as Vandana Mishra, who was also an office-bearer of the women's wing of the Indian Industries Association (IIA), was declared dead on arrival at the hospital.
According to sources, Mishra, who had recently recovered from Covid-19, had developed some complications on Friday. She needed to be admitted to the hospital immediately, but her car was stopped near Govind Nagar area in the town as a special train carrying the President was scheduled to pass through the overbridge.
Sources said Mishra remained stuck in her car for around an hour. The delay allegedly proved fatal; by the time she reached the hospital, she had already passed away.
Family members said they requested the cops to allow her vehicle to pass, but they refused, citing security reasons.
Kanpur police commissioner Aseem Arun visited the residence of the victim on Saturday and apologised for the tragedy. ''It is an unfortunate incident. It should not have happened. We will take measures to ensure that such incidents don't recur,'' he said.
Sadly, this is not the first instance of ailing people losing their lives after being stuck in the traffic due to VIP movements.