Scuffle between people to be taken for quarantine, officials in Bengaluru

Tension prevailed at Padarayanapura in the city on late Sunday (April 19) as some secondary contacts of COVID-19 patients along with a few locals tried to remove barricades and argued with officials who had come to shift them to a quarantine facility.

Padarayanapura has been sealed off to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus. Police said the incident happened when officials along with medical staff were trying to shift the secondary contacts to the place identified for quarantine purpose. After positive cases were reported from the area, several primary contacts have been sent to quarantine and now it was the turn of secondary ones, they said.

#UPDATE 54 people have been arrested & taken into custody. Officials needed to quarantine some people who had primary & secondary contact with 3 #COVID19 patients. 4 FIRs have been lodged at JJ Nagar Police station: Soumendu Mukherjee, Addl Commissioner of Police, Benglauru West https://t.co/orGnkChPz9

— ANI (@ANI) April 20, 2020

“Officials have made a list of 58 people who are secondary contacts to be sent to quarantine… The first 15 people came with officials for quarantining and were sent in a bus. When the next group was called, they started opposing it and wanted the tests to be conducted on the spot,” DCP (West) B Ramesh said.

“More people gathered there and started shouting slogans such as “We want justice”,” he said. “They tried to remove barricades erected near entry and exit point to the locality and indulged in argument with officials. “A case will be registered and action will be take against those involved,” the DCP said. He also ruled out any attack on officials or medical staff.