70 passengers refuse to go to quarantine centres,create ruckus at Bengaluru Station

Bengaluru: A group of about 70 passengers who came from Delhi by special train on Thursday created a ruckus at the Bengaluru Railway Station against being quarantined, prompting the police to demand Railway authorities to send them back tonight, officials said.

Around 1,000 passengers arrived here from Delhi today on board the first train to Karnataka since limited rail services resumed in the country amidst the lockdown.

As decided by the government, they were sent to the quarantine centres to remain in isolation for 14 days as part of measures to check spread of COVID-19.

However, about 70 others refused to be quarantined.

They demanded that they be sent back to Delhi as they were not informed beforehand that they will be compulsorily quarantined.

Video footage emerged in social media late in the evening purportedly showing the passengers refusing to go to the quarantine centres.

The passengers stood in groups at the Bengaluru Railway Station,clapped and raised slogans, “No Quarantine”.

“Most of the people have left for quarantine centres but a few have stayed back.

They are reluctant to be quarantined,” a Railway officer told PTI.

Following the protest, Inspector General of Police (Railways) D Roopa wrote to the Divisional Railway Manager of Bengaluru asking him to attach a bogie to send them back to the place where they had boarded.

In her letter, Roopa said some passengers who arrived from New Delhi have expressed their unwillingness to undergo quarantine for 14 days which is part of the state government’s measures to check spread of coronavirus.

“These passengers have requested that they be allowed to travel back from Bengaluru to their stations from where they boarded the train.

They have agreed to bear the ticket expenses.

It is requested to kindly add another bogie to Rajdhani Express 20691 departing Bengaluru today at 8.30 pm.The ticket expense be kindly collected from travellers,” Roopa wrote to the DRM.