A father, who wrongly believed of contracting the novel coronavirus that has claimed over 1000 lives in China, committed suicide by hanging himself from a tree in order to avoid transmission of the virus to his family.
The 50-year-old farmer Bala Krishna according to his relatives was an avid follower of coronavirus-related videos on his mobile phone and after contracting viral fever he wrongly conceived it as the deadly virus.
A resident of Indian state, Andhra Pradesh’s Chittoor district, Krishna visited a local hospital for treatment, where he was diagnosed with a viral fever.
He, however, remained convinced of contracting the virus and after his return to his native village of Seshamnaidu Kandriga on Sunday he urged his family to keep their distance.
He also pelted stones on his family members in order to maintain a safe distance from them as the coronavirus spread from person to person via respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes.
On Tuesday the situation turned worse when he locked his family in their home and hanged himself from a tree near his mother’s grave in the local graveyard.
His wife Lakshmi Devi called neighbours to let them out but by the time they found him it was too late.
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His son said he had called a government helpline for advice after he became worried about his father’s mentally disturbed state.
He said: ‘But they told me there was nothing to worry about if my father had not visited China recently and that I should calm him down.
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