Two vegetable vendors from Khandsa Mandi go missing after testing positive for Covid-19

The police said one of the vegetable sellers is from Haryana, while the other is from Uttar Pradesh. On May 2, a team of health officials had collected samples of multiple people for tests against the deadly disease.

Two vegetable vendors who had tested positive for coronavirus disease (Covid-19) allegedly went missing from Khandsa Mandi on Wednesday, the police said. According to the police, their samples were collected by a team of health officials last Saturday along with other people who work at the wholesale fruit and vegetable market.

A man in a face mask stands next to shuttered shops in the Khandsa Mandi, in Gurugram. (Parveen Kumar/Hindustan Times)

The police have lodged an FIR in the matter based on a complaint by a medical officer.

The police said one of the vegetable sellers is from Haryana, while the other is from Uttar Pradesh. On May 2, a team of health officials had collected samples of multiple people for tests against the deadly disease.

In the police complaint, Dr Rahul Aggarwal said that reports of 10 people, including the two suspects, whose samples were collected on Saturday came back positive for Covid-19 on Wednesday. The complaint said when the team of health officials went to the mandi on Wednesday to take the positive patients to an isolation center the two men were found missing. “The two men are roaming around freely and they might be infecting other people too,” the medical officer added in the FIR.

“As precautionary measure, we do not tell the results immediately to anyone who tests positive for Covid-19. We do not want to scare them off. However, in this case, both men ran away even before they were told about their condition,” Dr Aggarwal said.

Ashok Kumar, station house officer (SHO), Shivaji Nagar police station, said, “The men had tested positive for Covid-19 and have been missing since Wednesday. They are yet to be located and arrested. We are investigating the case.”

A case was registered against the two suspects 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) and 271 (disobedience to quarantine rule) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and section 51 of the Disaster Management Act at Shivaji Nagar police station on Thursday, police said.

According to the health department, a total of 21 people have tested positive for Covid-19 at Khanda Mandi so far. The vegetable market was shut down on Tuesday for sanitisation and will reopen on Saturday.

This is the second incident of a coronavirus patient running away to be reported since the beginning of May. An 18-year-old man was arrested on Thursday for allegedly running away after testing positive for Covid-19 and hiding at his relative’s house in Sector 10. According to the police, he also worked at the Khandsa Mandi as a vegetable vendor.