New Delhi: IAS officer Anupam Mishra who had escaped home quarantine after he returned from his honeymoon from Singapore was suspended by the Kerala government Friday.
Earlier in the day, Mishra was booked by the police for violating the quarantine orders.
The 2016-batch IAS officer posted as the sub-collector of Kollam district in Kerala is learnt to have fled quarantine after coming back from Singapore last week.
Mishra had returned to India on 19 March and reportedly left for Bengaluru from Kollam.
“He got married in February and was travelling to Singapore with his wife after that,” Kollam District Collector Abdul Nasar told ThePrint. “He came back on 19 March, and I told him he has to be home quarantined for some time… But he still left his official residence and left for Bengaluru with his wife on a flight the same day.”
Mishra’s brother, a doctor, lives in Bengaluru, Nasar added. Media reports, however, said he had reached his hometown Kanpur.
“Although he was not showing any symptoms, the protocol is such that you have to be quarantined,” Nasar said. “Maybe he misunderstood what home quarantine is…Maybe he thought it is his home where he has to be quarantined, but the point is he left without informing anyone.”
Mishra could not be contacted for a comment.
‘Action or no action depends on government’
Asked if action would be taken against Mishra, Nasar said it depends on the government. “We have already given our report to the government, and said he fled without informing even though he had no symptoms… But action or no action depends on the government.”
However, another officer from Kerala said there is pressure on the government to act against the officer for this “irresponsible” act.
“Firstly, Kerala has the highest number of cases in the country, and secondly, very recently, the IAS officer who had fatally run over a journalist while drunk driving was reinstated by the government,” the officer said. “So there is a lot of pressure on the government to act against him.”
As of late Thursday night, there were 126 cases of COVID-19 in Kerala, making it the state with the highest number of cases in the country.
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- The copy has been updated to reflect the fact that Mishra has been booked by the state police.