As many as six inmates of a quarantine centre in the Nambol assembly constituency of Manipur were arrested and sent to the Sajiwa central jail on Friday on charges of unruly misconduct and attacking the volunteers.
Meanwhile, some arrests were made for allegedly supplying heroin, liquor, marijuana and other intoxicants to the inmates of some quarantine centres. There were also clashes between the inmates and volunteers at a centre in Nambol on Thursday night.
Nambol MLA N. Loken, who visited the centre on Friday, asked officials to conduct an inquiry and punish the inmates involved in the incident. “The inmates are there for many good reasons and you are not on a picnic. Those who created problems after drinks shall not be spared,” he said.
An inmate at the facility said, “We asked for our meals since it was very late. During the tussle one inmate sustained bleeding and injuries in the head.”
However, a volunteer said, “We are doing voluntary service. Those six or seven inmates who created problems should be punished. Chief Minister N. Biren had said that beds are kept ready in the Sajiwa central jail for troublemakers in any centres. If the inmates are not imprisoned all the volunteers in the three quarantine centres in Nambol constituency shall pull out.”
Dr. Khoirom Sashikanta, additional health director and spokesperson, said with 19 persons testing positive for COVID-19 on Thursday, the total cases in Manipur have gone up to 385. Of them, 312 are active cases.