A teenaged boy in Mangaluru, in Karnataka’s major port city, attempted to smuggle in his friend into his flat in a suitcase in order to bypass security amid the lockdown, police said on Sunday. The incident occurred in an apartment complex on Arya Samaj Road in Mangaluru.

"As the boy was bored at being stuck at home due to the lockdown all alone, he tried to wheel in his friend for company. He did this by pushing him in a suitcase through the apartment security gate. But he was caught by neighbours in the apartment building, who found that the baggage was wobbling," the Kadri police station sub-inspector N. Vishwanath told IANS on the phone.

The teenager had previously asked his apartment complex for permission to bring his friend home, but reports say that the association had rejected his request. This led the teenager to take this extreme step of using a suitcase as a way to bring in his friend.

When residents found that the bag was wobbling, the security guards were called to examine the contents of the bag. "When the suitcase was opened, the security guard was shocked to see the boy's friend squeezed into it. Police were called to book the boys for violating the lockdown," he added.

No case was filed however, as both the boys in question are minors, studying in pre-university course (PUC) at a college in Mangaluru, police said.

"The friend in the suitcase was sent back to his house, and the boy was let off by the police," sub inspector Vishwanath said.

The lockdown is being strictly enforced to contain the spread of coronavirus across the country, while reports have suggested that the lockdown might be extended for another two weeks in Karnataka.

The latest reports say that Karnataka has 232 cases of coronavirus as of April 12 evening. There have been six deaths in the state. A total of 54 patients have been discharged, after they recovered and tested negative for coronavirus twice, as per the norms.