WOMAN DIES GASPING FOR BREATH; SHE WAS REFUSED A BED, SAY RELATIVES

GREATER NOIDA: A 33-year-old woman died inside a car at the parking area of Government Institute of Medical Sciences (GIMS) in Greater Noida on Thursday afternoon, allegedly after the hospital refused to admit her due to lack of oxygen beds, her family members alleged. Although she had not taken a Covid test, her family said she had Covid-like symptoms and hence was rushed to the hospital.

A video of the woman, purportedly struggling for breath moments before she died inside the vehicle, was widely circulated on social media.

The woman, Jagriti Gupta, was from Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh, her relatives said.

An MBA graduate, she lived at a paying guest accommodation in Sector Beta 2, and worked at a private company in Greater Noida.

Her brother, Shivam Gupta, said Jagriti had developed Covid symptoms, and complained of cough and breathlessness.

“As we were in Jabalpur, her paying guest accommodation owner and a few friends took her to several hospitals in Noida and Greater Noida but couldn’t get her admitted anywhere. Most of the hospitals said there were no intensive care unit (ICU) or oxygen beds available,” Shivam said, adding that Jagriti’s friends then took her to GIMS in Greater Noida around 12.30pm.

“Her friends requested the doctors, but of no avail. We also failed to arrange a private oxygen cylinder and my sister struggled for three hours and died,” he alleged.

Shivam said a GIMS doctor pronounced her dead at 3.30pm. Jagriti is survived by her husband and two children — aged 10 and 5 years.

Dr Brigadier (retired) Rakesh Gupta, director, GIMS, did not respond to calls or messages.

However, he told media persons in Greater Noida that “the patient had reached the hospital very late. The allegation that we did not admit the patient isn’t true.”