BHOPAL: Failure of Indore administration to conduct the COVID-19 test of the four National Security Act (NSA) detainees before sending them to jails in other districts of Madhya Pradesh has brought three cases of the deadly Coronavirus infection to Jabalpur and Satna districts.
While Jabalpur district had reported only nine positive cases of the deadly virus before this development on Saturday, Satna district hadn’t reported even a single COVOID-19 positive case, before the test report of the two NSA detainees came positive on Sunday.
Seven men were arrested in Indore’s Chandan Nagar locality (one of the COVID-19 containment zones) for attacking an on duty police constable on April 7. On April 8, the National Security Act (NSA) was invoked against four of them, who were subsequently sent to central jails in Jabalpur and Satna districts the next day.
But, despite being fully aware that all the four NSA detainees hailed from the COVID-19 containment zone, the Indore administration didn’t get their COVID-19 tests performed, but merely sent them to Jabalpur and Satna with an eight strong police team in a single van after getting their temperatures checked.
While, two of the NSA detainees were to be housed in Jabalpur Central Jail, two others were to be housed at the Satna Central Jail.
On April 9, before allowing entry to the two NSA detainees, the Jabalpur Central Jail decided to get the COVID-19 tests of the detainees performed. Both detainees were subsequently sent to the hospital in Jabalpur, where their tests were performed.
On Saturday, the test reports revealed that while one detainee had tested negative, the other one identified as Javed Khan (30) had tested positive for the deadly viral infection.
Subsequently, Khan was admitted at the Jabalpur Medical College Hospital. On the other hand, the two other NSA detainees sent from Indore to Satna jail reached Satna Central Jail on Friday (April 10).
“As both detainees hailed from Indore, we kept them at isolated cells at the Satna Central Jail, but on coming to know about one of the NSA detainees having tested positive in Jabalpur on Saturday, the COVID-19 tests of the two NSA detainees housed at Satna Central Jail too was performed and reports of both detainees came positive on Sunday,” Satna district collector Ajay Katesaria told The New Indian Express.
“The test reports have established that both NSA detainees from Indore are not mild, but moderate Coronavirus infection cases, due to which they cannot be treated medically in Satna. We’ve no option, but to send them to the Medical College Hospital in adjoining Rewa district, which too hasn’t reported any COVID-19 positive cases till date,” said Atesaria.
As many as 12 contacts, including first, second and third level, including the nine Satna Central Jail staff who came in contact with the two NSA detainees, one tea shop owner in Satna’s Nagod area at whose shop the Indore police while returning to Indore had tea and snacks and two other people with whom the Indore police team had interaction for short while, have been home isolated or quarantined.
“The Indore district administration has also been informed by the Jabalpur and Satna district administration for quarantining the eight cops and their contacts in whose custody the four NSA detainees were brought to Jabalpur and Satna on April 9 and April 10,” the Satna district collector said.
Importantly, the Jabalpur administration too has quarantined the local cops in whose custody, the two NSA detainees there were sent to hospital for COVID-19 test on April 10.