Meerut (UP), May 30 (IANS): Two brothers, born three years apart, die in a Meerut hospital, within hours of each other, due to Covid.

The brothers, Raza Hussain Zaidi, 27, and Shuja Hussain Zaidi, 24, were inseparable. They went to the same school and later to the same college from where they graduated as engineers.

Shuja tested positive for Covid and was admitted to a hospital where he was recovering.

Raza, the eldest among the three siblings, also complained of fever on May 22. As his condition deteriorated, he was rushed to a private hospital, where his younger brother was already admitted.

But, within a few hours, Raza passed away.

"Shuja was asleep then. He did not even know that Raza was brought in the ICU ward and had died. We later took away Shuja's mobile from him," said Abbas Haider, maternal uncle of the brothers.

Shuja, a chemical engineer who used to work in a company in Delhi, tested positive for Covid during an RT-PCR test conducted by the company he was employed with.

"After Shuja tested positive in Delhi, he was asked to return to Meerut and was admitted to a private hospital. After treatment, Shuja had tested negative and doctors said he was recovering. We were planning to get him discharged in a couple of days," his maternal uncle said.

On the evening of May 26, Shuja's condition took a turn for the worse. "He had recovered from Covid but the lung infection proved fatal. Doctors tried to revive him after his heart rate shot up and oxygen level nosedived. He passed away in the night," said Aamir Zaidi, a family friend of the brothers.

Raza had got married two years ago and is a father to a four-month-old daughter.

Their father Waqar Hussain Zaidi, mother Tasleem Fatima and brother Murtaza Hussain Zaidi are too shattered to even speak.

This is the second case of brothers dying within days of each other in Meerut.

On May 13, Joefred Varghese Gregory, 24, had passed away due to Covid.

Joefred's twin brother Ralphred was at the same hospital battling for his life, and the parents say when they talked to him, Ralphred immediately sensed something was wrong.

"Maa, you are hiding something. Something has happened and you are not telling me," Ralphred told his mother feebly.

The following day, Ralphred also succumbed to Covid.

Born three minutes apart, the two brothers died within hours of each other. "Our family is broken. Covid took away my sons who had never harmed anyone in their entire lives," said the mother.