In the process some 80 people were infected. This girl ... transmitted the virus in the course of seeking treatment,' the minister said in New Delhi.

In Pune, the girl's mother and aunt lashed out at Azad, demanding his resignation for his 'insensitive remarks'.

'We want an apology from the government. (Azad) has hurt a mother... He has blamed our child for having infected around 80 others. He needs to get his facts right,' the mother told reporters.

The girl's more vocal aunt, Ayesha Shaikh, added: 'Our child sacrificed her life for the nation. Because of her death so many people went for swine flu test and have tested positive. We want an apology or resignation from Azad.'

After Reeda's death, there was a respite before housemaker Fahmida Paanwala, 53, succumbed to the virus late Saturday in Mumbai's Kasturba Hospital. Within 24 hours, two more people died.

India has reported 783 cases including four deaths. Over 500 patients have been cured. The most badly hit states are Delhi and Maharashtra.

Authorities are closely monitoring the condition of three people - a medico and a pharmacist, who are in critical condition in Pune, and a 28-year-old businessman who is in critical condition in a Mumbai hospital.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan convened a meeting of officials and experts as a team from the National Centre for Disease Control, formerly the National Institute of Communicable Disease, left for Pune.

Pune is in the grip of panic as thousands besieged government hospitals to get themselves checked, almost all of them with their faces masked.

In New Delhi, the privately run Sanskriti School closed down for a week after three students tested positive for swine flu, including one who recently visited Britain.

Schools in Delhi are doing everything to contain the spread of the virus among students. One teacher told IANS that even a sneeze in class was now enough to send a student home with advice for an immediate check-up.

Fresh cases have also been reported from Lucknow, Goa and Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, revealing the contagious nature of the disease that erupted in Mexico.

Randeep Guleria, head of medicine at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, meanwhile warned: 'The epidemic is here to stay for some time.'