Ex-MP Dharmendra Yadav tests Covid positive

Kanpur: Samajwadi Party leader and former Badaun MP Dharmendra

Yadav

(40) tested positive for novel coronavirus infection after developing fever.

Dharmendra, nephew of Samajwadi Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav, has been admitted to the Covid-19 hospital in Uttar Pradesh University of Medical Sciences (UPUMS) at Saifai, Etawah, after his test report confirmed him positive for Covid-19 on Saturday night.

UPUMS pro vice-chancellor Prof. Ramakant Yadav said, the former MP was running fever after which he underwent Covid-19 test at KGMU in Lucknow.

“The lab report confirmed him positive for novel coronavirus. On late Saturday night, he was admitted to Covid-19 hospital at UPUMS in Saifai,” he added.

Yadav had complained of fever when he reached Prayagraj from Delhi on June 11. “The same night Yadav left for Lucknow where he got the corona test done at KGMU,” said sources.

The test report of Yadav’s gunner Giriraj came negative. “Now, samples of Yadav’s driver Vijay and four other persons who had accompanied him in the past few days have been sent for testing,” said officials.

The staff of district health department in Etawah is now tracing contacts to identify the people who came in contact with the three-time former MP in the duration.

The districts nagar palika launched a sanitisation drive outside the former MP’s residence in Saifai on Sunday. “The sanitisation exercise is part of campaign to prevent spread of Covid-19,” said SDM Hem Singh.

“We have been sanitising the whole area with mechanical and manual spraying machines,” official said.

Dharmendra was elected to 14th Lok Sabha in 2004 from Badaun constituency, re-elected to the 15th Lok Sabha in 2009 and again to the 16th Lok Sabha in 2014. He was member of the standing committees on defence, rural development, information technology and agriculture.

Besides, 11 fresh Covid-19 cases were detected in Etawah on Sunday, pushing the tally of corona positive cases in the district to 126, said district health officials.