Sunil Bansal, who was the head of the dairy business of Yoga guru Ramdev’s Patanjali Ayurved, died last week due to Covid-related complications. The 57-year-old died on 19 May after suffering from “severe lung damage and brain haemorrhage” due to Covid-19 and related complications, according to a report by ThePrint.
Reportedly, he was on ECMO (Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation machines) during his final days.
Bansal was a specialist in dairy sciences. He took charge of Patanjali’s dairy business in 2018, when the company announced its plans to sell packaged cow milk and other milk-based products including curd, buttermilk and cheese.
The news of his death comes at a time when Ramdev is making headlines over his comments about allopathic medicines and Covid. In a 140-second clip that went viral last week, Ramdev is heard saying that “lakhs have died from taking allopathic medicines for Covid-19”.
The Indian Medical Association (IMA) demanded that the Centre should take strict action against yoga guru Ramdev for allegedly misleading people by making "unlearned" comments and describing modern medicine as "stupid science". Ramdev should be prosecuted under the Epidemic Diseases Act as "untutored" statements are "a threat to the literate society of the country as well as to the poor people falling prey to him", the IMA said in a statement.
Following the outrage, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan had written a strongly-worded letter to Ramdev on Sunday saying the remarks were "extremely unfortunate". Soon, Ramdev withdrew the controversial statements.