E-Paper
Ludhiana ADC, Khanna SDM test positive for Covid-19; civil surgeon, other ADCs quarantined
ADC Amarjit Singh Bains and SDM, Khanna, Sandeep Singh are among 78 persons who tested positive in Ludhiana. Top officials they contacted have been home quarantined
Two bureaucrats, including additional deputy commissioner (ADC) Amarjit Singh Bains and sub divisional magistrate (SDM), Khanna, Sandeep Singh were among 78 persons who tested positive for Covid-19 as Ludhiana recorded its second highest spike in Ludhiana on Tuesday.
With this, Ludhiana’s count has risen to 1,170 cases and 27 fatalities. Earlier on July 5, the city had recorded 84 positive cases, the highest so far in a single day.
Top officials too who had come in contact with Bains and Sandeep Singh were home quarantined, including civil surgeon Dr Rajesh Bagga, who had held several meetings with Bains as part of their Covid-19 initiatives.
Both Bains and Sandeep Singh were believed to be batch mates. They were suffering from influenza like illness (ILI) earlier and were admitted at Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMC&H).
Bains and Sandeep Singh were the third and fourth high ranking officials from Ludhiana to have contracted the virus. Assistant commissioner of police (ACP) Anil Kohli died from Covid-19 on April 18, and deputy commissioner of police (DCP), law and order, Ashwani Kapoor, was undergoing treatment after testing positive in the last week of June.
Bains had recently supervised the return of migrant labourers via train to their native states, including Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. He was also looking after ration distribution among labourers.
Of late, both officials were camping at their offices and monitoring Covid-19 healthcare initiatives of the state government.
FLUTTER IN BUREAUCRATIC CIRCLES
The news of the ADC and SDM testing positive created a flutter in bureaucratic circles and among employees of the deputy commissioner’s office.
People they had come in contact with were home quarantined, including MC additional commissioner Sanyam Aggarwal, additional chief administrator, Greater Ludhiana Development Authority (GLADA) Bhupinder Singh, ADC (Jagraon) Neeru Katyal Gupta, SDMs Amrinder Singh Malhi and Dr Baljinder Singh Dhillon, secretary, Regional Transport Authority Damanjit Singh Mann, MC joint commissioner Kulpreet Singh, and estate officer GLADA Sonam Chaudhary, among others.
Dr Bagga and ADC Bains were part of several meetings conducted by the administration to spread awareness of Covid-19 under mission Fateh.
DC Varinder Sharma, who tested negative in initial tests, advised all officials who had come in direct contact with Bains to get their tests done and proceed for home quarantine as a precautionary measure.
OFFICIAL RESIDENCE ON MALL ROAD SEALED
The ADC’s official residence on Mall Road was sealed with his family members as well as gunman, cook and driver asked to quarantine. The health department had also initiated processes to trace his contacts.
Earlier, four members of family on Mall Road had tested positive for Covid-19.
