Kerala CPI(M) leader fights with official who stopped her son from violating home quarantine

The Kerala police have registered a case against former Kozhikode mayor and CPI (M) MP, AK Premajam, for disrupting the duty of a health official who questioned the leader's son on violating home quarantine. The 81-year-old leader was booked on Monday.

According to the Kozhikode Medical College police, on Monday afternoon, the CPI(M) leader had fought with the Corporation health inspector who had arrived at her residence to check if her son, who had recently returned from Australia, had violated his mandatory 14-day home quarantine.

The quarantine period has been mandated by the state government for all international passengers, to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic, which causes the COVID-19 disease in infected persons.

"The local health authorities had heard that the CPI(M) leader's son had roamed outside instead of staying at home for the mandated 14 days. When the Corporation health inspector asked him about this, his mother intervened and argued and fought with the official," explained Medical College Station House Officer (SHO) Moosa Vallikkadan.

A case has now been registered against the former mayor under Section 186 (Obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), Section 188 (Disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant), Section 269 (Negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life,) and Section 294 (b) (sings, recites or utters any obscene song, ballad or words, in or near any public place) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

"We are not sure of the son's details. The case is against the mother. However, we have been intimated that it has only been a few days since the son had flown in from Australia, making quarantine necessary," an officer from the Medical College police station told TNM.

With 95 positive cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Kerala, the state government has issued a lockdown with strict action to be taken against those who refuse to comply with quarantine and other orders put in place to contain the spread of the virus.

Despite reporting lower number of positive cases as compared to other districts, Kozhikode has been diligently observing and quarantining suspected cases of COVID-19 for the last several weeks as the districts has a huge native population who live in Gulf nations.

Multiple cases have also been registered across the state, against persons who have violated their state-mandated quarantine and stepped out of their home. In Thiruvananthapuram's Vamanapuram, a man who recently flew in from the Gulf and had been placed under home quarantine attacked an ASHA worker for reporting that he had returned from a foreign country. A case has now been registered against the man.