Lokpal member AK Tripathi, tested COVID positive, dies of cardiac arrest

Justice Ajay Kumar Tripathi, 62, who had tested positive for COVID-19, died after suffering from a cardiac arrest. He breathed his last at AIIMS Trauma Centre in New Delhi.

Tripathi, who was a judicial member of Lokpal and former Chief Justice of Chhattisgarh High Court, had positive for COVID-19 at AIIMS last month. He was very sick and was in the ICU and on the ventilator for the past three days, reported India Today.

Reports suggest that his daughter and a cook, who had contracted COVID-19, had recovered.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his deputy Sushil Kumar Modi expressed profound grief on Saturday over the death.

Related news | 135 troopers from CRPF battalion in Delhi test positive for COVID-19

In his condolence messages, Nitish Kumar said the death of Justice Tripathi had caused an irreparable loss to the judiciary.

Sushil Kumar Modi said he had lost a close friend. He remembered his association with Tripathi since the infamous fodder scam days.

There was rarely any cultural functions in the city which he would not attend despite being a judge, he added.

(With inputs from agencies)