Criminal proceedings initiated against fleeing air passengers

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

SILCHAR: The 385 passengers of Spice Jet and Indigo, who after alighting at Kumbhirgram Airport skipped the mandatory COVID-19 tests at the designated Mahatma Gandhi Model Hospital at Tikal near Shalganga, will now face legal action for violating COVID protocol and wilful negligence in causing health hazards to the society.

The hospital is 8 km from the airport. ADC Sumit Sattawan (in-charge Health), in a letter on April 22 to SP B L Meena, requested him to "initiate case proceedings against these passengers by filing an FIR for violating government orders and putting the society at risk during COVID pandemic time."

The full list of passengers in question with their contact numbers as obtained from the flight carriers has been appended with the letter to the SP of Cachar. In the meantime, the Silchar Airport Authority came out with clarifications that passengers did not flee from the airport skipping COVID tests as reported in media, raising questions about security and arrangements at the airport. No passenger has escaped from security checks or from the designated area at passengers' terminal building.

It was further clarified that the screening of the arrival of passengers for RAT and RT-PCR tests was being done by transporting them to the MG Model Hospital Tikal by the District Health Department of Cachar. A statement was also released by ADC Sumit Sattawan to remove any misgiving and misreading. "Since it was the first day, more than 300 passengers moved out of our system without testing and rather shouting at our personnel. We did not anticipate so much indiscipline from flight passengers, but all of them are traceable as we have their contact numbers," the ADC said.

Every day a total of 690 passengers arrive in Kumbhirgram airport by Air India, Spice Jet and Indigo. On April 21 when the incident happened, the passengers were from hotspots of Delhi, Bangalore and Kolkata. Next day tests at Tikal revealed 6 positive cases from amongst the alighting passengers. Once the skipping passengers are traced and tested, their potential threat can be known. Today, a chaotic scene prevailed at MG Model Hospital Tikal where the air passengers were complaining of lack of basic facilities for them and high charge of Rs 500 for RAT and RTCPR tests.

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