At least 32 returnees remain untraceable, police rope in cybercrime cell to trace locations

At least 32 returnees from the United Kingdom continue to remain untraceable as the health department increased its surveillance to identify cases infected with

At least 32 returnees from the United Kingdom continue to remain untraceable as the health department increased its surveillance to identify cases infected with the new mutant strain of SARS-CoV-2 virus that appeared in the UK. The Gurugram police have deployed its cybercrime team to look into the matter.

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The police said that a three-member team from 40 police stations are conducting investigations based on technical surveillance to trace them. The missing travellers had shared phone numbers and addresses in the form during their arrival and in most of the cases, the mobile numbers are switched off, said police.

KK Rao, the commissioner of police, Gurugram, said that untraceable contacts are being identified through their mobile phone records. “The cyber crime cell looks into the call records. Based on the maximum calls made to a particular number, we contact the person concerned and gathered details about the untraceable contacts,” said Rao.

The police said that they have managed to trace 16 such returnees, who had gone missing after reaching India last week.

Rao said the health department has provided all information to them, including phone numbers and addresses of people who are untraceable. “We are locating them and have assigned tasks to the team to do it within two days,” he said.

The police are tracing all UK returnees who had landed at the Delhi international airport in the last three weeks and those who have travelled to Delhi from Bengaluru, Mumbai and Kolkata.

Till now, the district health department has received a list of 722 travellers who arrived in Gurugram since December 8. Of these, 690 UK returnees have been traced, while 164 have moved to other countries or states, said officials.

At least 370 who were subjected to a mandatory Covid-19 test have tested negative, except one 22-year-old man, who tested positive and the test results of genomic sequencing are awaited. The man returned to India on December 19 and tested positive on December 29. He has been isolating at a designated government facility.

On Wednesday, two more Gurugram residents who tested Covid-19 positive at New Delhi airport on December 23 were confirmed positive for the new mutant strain. They are being treated at the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital in New Delhi.