IAS officer 'skips' home quarantine in Kerala

An IAS officer in Kerala has 'skipped' home quarantine after his return from Singapore nearly ten days ago and seems to have left for Bengaluru to be with his brother, prompting the state government to seek an explanation from him, a top district official said on Friday.

Kollam Sub-Collector Anupam Mishra had returned to the state on March 19 from Singapore and was advised to remain under home quarantine, as per the protocol for overseas returnees in the backdrop of coronavirus outbreak, District Collector B Abdul Nasser said.

The bureaucrat from Uttar Pradesh was on leave after his marriage and had taken permission to travel to Malaysia and Singapore.

"On his return I advised him to remain under home quarantine. Seems like he left to be with his family at Bengaluru," Nasser told PTI. He said the state government has sought an explanation in this regard.

"We have asked him to provide his current address and travel details to Bengaluru. On his return to Kerala from the foreign trip, he had undergone, medical examination and did not show symptoms. His close family and personal staff, including gunman, are under observation," the collector said.

He, however, did not share any detail about other family members of the officer and whether they too had been put under home quarantine.

Local media reports said people in Mishra's neighbourhood informed officials after noticing no movement in his home for quite some time.

Incidentally, Kollam, is the only district in the state, which has not reported any positive case of COVID-19 so far.