Five held, over 60 booked for attacking corona warriors in Kanpur: SP

Five residents of Gulab Ghosi Masjid locality here in the city were arrested on Wednesday for allegedly attacking a team of policemen and health workers, visiting the area for tracing people who had come in contact of a COVID-19 patient earlier, said officials.

Besides arresting five persons, the police have also detained ten others and are ascertaining their roles in attacking the corona warriors and damaging public property, said Kanpur (West) Superintendent of Police Anil Kumar.

Kumar said police have booked ten identified miscreants and 50 other unidentified ones for committing various offences under Indian Penal Code and other penal laws in the incident, which occurred early on Wednesday.

The incident occurred in Gulab Ghosi Masjid area under Bajaria police station of the city, where a team of police personnel and medical workers had gone for contact-tracing for a COVID-19 patient.

"Trouble began when nine first contacts of a COVID-19 patient were taken for an institutional quarantine centre for isolation. As the news spread in the locality, people began thronging the area and tried to attack the health workers, said Kumar.

But with the medicare workers already having left the scene by then, the mob vented its fury against policemen, still present in the area, and attacked and injured some of them, he said.

"As many as five persons were already arrested for attacking police. We have detained 10 more people suspected to have attacked the police and attempted to vandalise public property, he said.

"Security has been beefed up with additional deployment of police personnel and Provincial Armed Constabulary and the situation is under control," said District Magistrate Brahmdeo Ram Tiwari.

"The investigation is underway to find who all instigated the attack and are involved in damaging public property, the DM said.

Kanpur has reported 207 COVID-19 cases till date. As many as four COVID-19-related deaths have occurred in the district, while 17 patients have recovered from the fatal infection and been discharged.

The count of active cases in the district stands at 186.