North Delhi mayor seeks 'Covid Warrior' status for deceased journalist

North Delhi Mayor Jai Prakash on Monday wrote to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal seeking a 'Covid Warrior' status for a Hindi daily journalist who had died after allegedly jumping off the fourth floor of a hospital building here a week ago.

North Delhi Mayor Jai Prakash on Monday wrote to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal seeking a 'Covid Warrior' status for a Hindi daily journalist who had died after allegedly jumping off the fourth floor of a hospital building here a week ago. In his letter, Prakash has also urged to grant an ex gratia of Rs 1 crore to Tarun Sisodia's family, his office said in a statement.

"The journalist died fighting corona, and should be accorded the status of a 'Corona Warrior'," he said in the letter. The 37-year-old journalist, who was undergoing treatment for COVID-19 at the AIIMS Trauma Centre, died after allegedly jumping off the fourth floor of the hospital building on July 6, officials said.

Earlier, his wife had also sought a 'Covid Warrior' status for her late husband. Sisodia worked for a Hindi daily and lived with his wife and two children in northeast Delhi's Bhajanpura.

Following the incident, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan had asked the AIIMS director to set a panel to probe the matter. A family member of Sisodia, who did not wish to be named, had earlier said: "He was a very strong person, mentally, and I cannot believe he could take such an extreme step." Sisodia is survived by his father, mother, elder brother, wife, and two little daughters, aged two-and-a-half years and three months. PTI KND HMB