While most of us are staying indoors to save ourselves from the pandemic, there are those who are battling the virus on the front line. One such example is that of Surender Jeet Kaur, Assistant Commissioner of Delhi Police who lost her husband Charan Jeet Singh, 54 to COVID-19.
Surender was the first in the family to test positive, followed by her husband 5 days later and her 80-year-old father a few days after. However, while Surender recovered, her husband was put on ventilator support.
My husband didn’t step out of the house when the lockdown started, but I went out daily because of my job… I will never be able to forgive myself.
-Assistant Commissioner of Delhi Police Surender Jeet Kaur
Surender Jeet Kaur is the ACP (Crimes Against Women) in the South-East district of the Delhi Police and is also the ACP (Covid Cell) of the district. She recalls that she last spoke to her husband on May 22 at night when they were both in different wards of Apollo Hospital. She was informed that her husband needed to be put on ventilator support and she even video called him.
He was breathless and told me that his oxygen level was dropping. He showed me the monitor, the doctors in the room, and then said he was having trouble speaking and that he would send me WhatsApp messages. I prayed every day, at temples, mosques, churches and gurdwaras for him. I am devastated that he’s gone. We were to move to Canada to live with our son in 2023 after my retirement. We had so many plans.
The ACP’s brother Maninder Ahluwalia told Indian Express that the hospital tried plasma therapy but he did not respond to the treatment.
