A sub-collector in Kollam district of Kerala violated the 14-day mandatory home quarantine after returning from Singapore to find his way to Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh. The officer claimed he was under quarantine at Bengaluru, however cell phone location showed him to be at his hometown in Kanpur.

Anupam Mishra, was on leave and had joined back duty on March 18 but was asked to be under quarantine. A native of Uttar Pradesh, the officer had travelled to Singapore and reached Kerala on March 18 but on Thursday, his house was found locked by the health department officials. 

A routine visit to his residence by health workers revealed that the young officer had gone missing. Speaking to media, the district collector for Kollam, B Abdul Nazer said that his office has submitted a report to the state government and considers the actions by Anupam as “a grave lapse”. A probe has also been initiated to figure out why the officer left without informing the department. The collector has warned of stern action against the officer.

Soon after coming to know of his absence, Abdul Nazer contacted Anupam but was led to believe that he was under quarantine at Bengaluru with his brother, who is a doctor. Anupam claimed to have left Kerala on the same day he was asked to remain under quarantine. 

The Kollam district collector, however, reached out to the police and asked them to trace Anupam’s location and found it to be at Kanpur, reported Malyalamanorama.

This incident comes at a time when the state is under lockdown to contain the spread of COVID-19 (coronavirus).

The state on Thursday reported 19 new cases of COVID-19, with the total number of positive cases in Kerala reaching 137. Kollam remains the only district in the state that hasn’t yet reported a COVID-19 positive case. 

Editor's note: An earlier version of this story carried a wrong image. The News Minute sincerely and unconditionally apologises for the regrettable error.