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 angry mother of Reeda 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.'

Later, Azad apologised to the grieving family.

The health minister said: 'It (the spread) has gone up across the world and it will also increase in India. For this we need to increase the number of beds in both government and private hospitals.'

'So far Swine flu has only been restricted to well-off families,' he told a news channel.

Fahmida Panwala, 53, who succumbed to the virus late Saturday in Mumbai's Kasturba Hospital, was the second victim of the virus. Within 24 hours, two more people died.

The 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.

According to a statement issued by the health ministry, about 4,084 people have been tested so far, of whom 864 are positive for the Influenza A(H1N1). It said that 523 of them have been discharged.

On Sunday, 82 laboratory-confirmed cases were reported with Pune (34) topping the list. It is followed by Delhi (13), Mumbai (12), Chennai (7), Goa (4), Vadodara (3), Kozhikode (2), Hyderabad (2), Gurgaon (2), Thiruvananthapuram (1) and Thrissur in Kerala (1), and Sirsa in Haryana (1).