In an appalling incident, a case has been registered against young IAS officer Anupam Mishra for flouting the quarantine norms prevalent in the state and fleeing to Uttar Pradesh.
His gunman is also being investigated to see if the quarantine rules were broken. Fisheries minister J Mercykutty Amma on Thursday said strict action would be taken against the Kollam sub-collector who skipped the 14-day quarantine period because of his recent visit to a foreign country.
He had fled his official residence in Kollam on Thursday. His mobile phone tower location has been traced to Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh.
As per media report, Mishra, who got married recently, was on vacation till March 18. He apparently went abroad with his wife for a honeymoon. Though he rejoined for duty on March 19, he was asked to go on home quarantine because of his foreign travel history.
All persons coming to India from abroad have been strictly asked to go on home quarantine in the wake of coronavirus outbreak. His neighbours said Mishra apparently fled his residence two days ago.
However, Kollam district collector B Abdul Nasser said Mishra went missing on Thursday. “He was on home quarantine since March 19. Health and revenue officials found on Thursday that he was not present at his official residence,” Nasar told a local media portal.
Nasser said the sub-collector, when contacted over phone, said he was in Bengaluru. “However, his mobile tower location has been traced to Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh,” he said.“He told me that he left for Bengaluru as he does not have any relatives in Kollam,” Nasser said.
Nasser said the sub-collector’s action was a serious breach of service rule. “I have submitted a report to the government.”
For those unaware, Kollam is the only district in Kerala that has not recorded even a single COVID-19 case till Thursday.
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