Two men held for violating lockdown, shifted to quarantine facility

According to the police, the men worked as drivers in Gujarat and were attempting to return to their respective villages in Arwal and Sheikhpura districts in Bihar.

The police on Monday arrested two men, who had travelled from Gujarat, for allegedly violating lockdown orders and risking the potential spread of infection, near Wazirpur Chowk in Sector 10. The police said the men were sent to a quarantine facility in Sector 9 and their samples were sent for testing.

Policemen stop and check ID cards of commuters on the Gurgaon-Delhi border after lockdown due to the Coronavirus outbreak in Gurgaon on March 23. (ANI)

According to the police, the men worked as drivers in Gujarat and were attempting to return to their respective villages in Arwal and Sheikhpura districts in Bihar. The police said after the nationwide lockdown was imposed, their employer let them go and they planned to return.

A police officer privy to the investigation, requesting anonymity, said that they took a lift from a truck driver and reached the Rajasthan border, where the police stopped them for questioning.

“The local police informed the health authorities and they underwent thermal screening. Both were shifted to a quarantine facility in a school. They had quarantine stamps on their hands but they were hazy and dates could not be read,” said the police officer.

The men claimed that after a day in quarantine, they were asked to leave. The police said they hitched a ride in a vegetable truck to Jaipur and walked on foot for three days to reach Gurugram on Sunday evening.

“They had contacted a friend, who is a resident of Wazirpur. He informed them of the route. They planned to stay at their friend’s house for a few days and wait for the lockdown to be lifted, so they could return to Bihar,” said the police officer.

The police said a local resident noticed that two men from outside their village were roaming about and informed the sarpanch of Dhorka village, who called the police.

Sanjay Kumar, station house officer (SHO), Sector 10-A police station, said, that it was not certain if the men had escaped from the quarantine facility in Rajasthan or travelled to the city after completing their quarantine. “The exact reasons will be known once the men join the investigation. They have been shifted to a quarantine facility in Sector 9 for at least 14 days,” said the SHO.

A case was registered against the men under sections 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant), 269 (negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life), 270 (malignant act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life), 271 (disobedience to quarantine rule) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 51 of the Disaster Management Act at the Sector 10-A police station on Monday, the police said.