In India, mobs harass, heckle and beat up those they suspect of Coronavirus

• “I am no one’s enemy,” a 37-year-old wrote in a suicide note before he took his life by hanging himself.
  
• Reportedly, a bunch of Delhites gathered around society to scream and yell, asking a family to take their patient elsewhere.
  
• A few days ago back, a group of young doctors, including a woman, returning from emergency duty at the AIIMS were beaten up with sticks.

In India, Coronavirus patients have a lot more to fight than just the virus. As the number of cases increase, the stigma of infection is looming large.

Reportedly, yesterday (April 14) a bunch of Delhites gathered around a building to scream and yell from downstairs, asking a family to take their patient elsewhere. He was suspected to be infected by Coronavirus.

Yet another 37-year-old from Himachal’s Una district took his life by hanging himself. And this victim was not even a suspect. He was just merely seen giving lift to two people who attended Tablighi Jamaat meet in Delhi. The villagers called the police on him and were constantly harassing him.


Villagers were suspicious that he may have contracted the virus and would end up infecting others. After many demanded it, he admitted himself to a hospital. However, three days later, his reports came negative, and in spite of that he ended his life, with a suicide note that said, “I am no one’s enemy.”

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“He returned from quarantine and kept crying. I had not seen him cry ever. He kept saying there was a conspiracy against him and that he was falsely implicated. He was in another room all day. I went to him and kept asking him if he was fine, but he did not tell me anything,” his mother told The Quint.

‘Corona-carriers’ beaten up with sticks

Even the so-called ‘Gods in white uniform’ were not spared from the collective wrath of frightened mobs. A few days back, a group of young doctors, returning from emergency duty at the AIIMS in Bhopal, were beaten up with sticks.

“We showed them our IDs, and we had our aprons on. There were some more colleagues. The policemen were abusive and said we were the ones causing the viral infection. They threw away our belongings and kept hitting us without any rhyme or reason,” said Ritu, a doctor who sustained injuries.

These are some of the many stories of hatred which is rife in the country that is gripped with fear and apathy. A few weeks back, a young girl from Manipur was spit on by a man who called her ‘Coronavirus’.

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