The Telangana Railway Police on Sunday booked cases against five passengers, including two women, for allegedly violating the government's orders by using public transport despite being advised home quarantine on their return to Hyderabad from abroad.
According to Superintendent of Railway Police B Anuradha, all passengers who came from abroad are checked with thermal screening devices and some of them had been advised home quarantine and also marked with stamping.
"They (those stamped on their hands along with the date up to which the quarantine is to be observed) should not use public transport. But these five came to railway stations and boarded trains (to reach their destinations) on Saturday and Sunday, " the official said.
They were caught from various places of the state (while travelling) and shifted to differen thospitals. The five home quarantine passengers including one with suspected symptoms of coronavirus, and belonging to Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh were detained after fellow passengers alerted the authorities.
They had travel history to Nigeria, US Indonesia, Australia and Dubai.
Cases were registered against them under relevant sections of IPC and The Epidemic Diseases Act 1897, which the Telangana government invoked in the state on Saturday on violating the state government's order to prevent COVID 19, the official said.
Health officials earlier said any person who has returned from any foreign country or has been in transit shall be in self-home quarantine for 14 days from the time of arrival in India, irrespective of having any symptoms or not.
The Telangana government on Sunday decided to lock down the entire state until March 31, to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. All inter-state borders were closed for passengers and public transport was be shut down.
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