Updates : Bengaluru police arrest 59 for assaulting medical staff to avoid COVID-19 quarantine
BENGALURU: Jagajeenram Nagar police on Monday arrested 59 residents including a woman who created ruckus and assaulted medical staff during quarantine. Five FIRs lodged and they have booked under section IPC 353, 307 under NDMA Act, 353, 332, 324, 201.
“We have taken them into custody for interrogation. Officials needed to quarantine some people who had primary and secondary contact with three COVID-19 patients,” Additional Commisioner of Police (West) Soumendu Mukherjee said.
“I met the Chief Minister and briefed him about yesterday’s attack. He has told us to act strictly which I told the same to my officials. We won’t tolerate such acts by anyone. I am going to Padarayanapura now,” Home Minister Basavraj Bommai said.
It may be recalled that residents of Padarayanapura on Sunday evening went on a rampage and vandalised a pandal and police check-post when a team of BBMP officials along with police arrived there to take 58 secondary contacts of a deceased COVID-19 patient into quarantine.
As the patient died on Sunday, the BBMP health officials drew up a list of secondary contacts who had to be quarantined and tested for coronavirus. Police sources said that all these 58 people had been identified and it was decided to quarantine them at a hotel.
25 BBMP staffers and police personnel went to the houses of the contacts and convinced 10-12 of them to be quarantined. “Though they all cooperated and were ready to come with us to the hotel where they were supposed to be quarantined, other residents in the locality started demanding that they need not be taken out and arrangements be made to home-quarantine them,” he added.
“While we tried to convince them that it was being done in the interest of other residents in the locality, about 200 people went on the rampage, vandalising the pandal and chairs, where police staff would sit and the area was sealed off,” said a police officer, who was part of team.
Padarayanapura has been sealed off since April 11 after five COVID-19 positive cases were found in one house.
50 detained for ‘assaulting’ Covid warriors in Bengaluru
Bengaluru: About 50 suspects were detained for allegedly assaulting healthcare workers and damaging public property in the city’s south-west suburb on Sunday night, police said on Monday.
“We have detained about 50 people suspected to have attacked healthcare workers and vandalised public property in Padarayanapura area when secondary contacts of Covid-hit patients were told to get quarantined,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) Ramesh Bhanot told IANS.
The city civic body sealed off the area last week after 3 Covid positive cases were identified residing there with travel history to Tablighi Jamaat event in New Delhi’s Nizamuddin in March.
“Security has been beefed up with additional deployment of our personnel and the situation is under control. Cases have been booked against the suspects and investigation is underway to find who all instigated the attack and are involved in damaging public property,” Bhanot said.
Trouble reportedly began when the secondary contact persons refused to meet the health workers on Sunday evening and stay at the quarantine centre for isolation.
“A mob attacked a make-shift tent in the area set up for the health workers and the police personnel who were posted there to prevent the people from coming out of houses and roaming around. They removed the barricade and damaged tables and chairs,” added Bhanot.
