BSF jawan’s kin forced to vacate house after he tests positive for COVID-19 in Odisha's Jagatsinghpur

The jawan, hailing from Kakatpur in Puri, had returned from New Delhi and had travelled to Purohitpur from Bhubaneswar in a taxi.
For representational purposes
For representational purposes

JAGATSINGHPUR: In a disturbing incident reflecting the stigmatisation of Covidaffected families, the wife and children of a Border Security Force (BSF) jawan were harassed and forced to vacate their rented house in Purohitpur village of Jagatsinghpur municipality after he tested positive.

The jawan’s family initially took shelter at a local guest house and were later shifted to a temporary medical centre (TMC).

The jawan, hailing from Kakatpur in Puri, had returned from New Delhi and had travelled to Purohitpur from Bhubaneswar in a taxi.

After spending a night with his family, he was rushed to the district headquarters hospital where health officials advised him to register himself at the TMC at SVM College here.

His swab samples were collected for testing by officials during his stay at the TMC. On June 28, he tested positive for coronavirus.

The administration then directed Jagatsinghpur municipality authorities to gather his travel history and start contact tracing.

The civic body pasted a notice in front of the house. Panicked over the development, the owner forced the jawan’s family to vacate the house.

The executive officer of Jagatsinghpur municipality Bimal Kumar Lenka has lodged an FIR with the local police against the owner of the house and the manager of the guest house for violating Covid-19 guidelines on Tuesday.

Jagatsinghpur IIC Rajani Kant Mishra said police have registered a case against the accused under Sections 188, 269, 270 and 34 of the IPC.

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