Four people from West Bengal’s North Dinajpur district have reportedly ‘tested’ Covid-19 positive without ever undergoing a Covid test. The incident has come to light in Belon village under Goalpokhor-2 block and has sent health officials in a tizzy.

On August 11, the district health department had organized mass RT-PCR testing of random samples in the area to ascertain possible community transmission. Accordingly, the village local panchayat prepared a list of 80 persons whose samples would be collected.

Of the total, swabs were taken from 73 persons on that list. However, when test reports arrived on August 14, four persons out of the seven who did not undergo the test were mentioned as ‘Covid positive’.

“Four people who did not undergo any test have been shown Covid positive. All of them are residents of Chapor. We have received their complaints. I think the tests weren’t conducted properly. There were irregularities and people have been marked positive randomly,” alleged Tauf Alam, a member of the local panchayat.

One such person, Harun Rashid said his name was on the list for testing but did not undergo the test on that day. “When I saw a long queue that day I left without testing. Yet they have given a report saying I’ve tested Covid positive. This is all false,” he told India Today TV.

“How could they give such a report when I did not undergo the test?” asks Suraj Alam, a resident of Rampur. Alam says he had left for Kandi for work on August 11 when the test was being conducted. “Is this a business? They just want to earn a quick buck in the name of coronavirus,” he alleged.

Reacting to the incident, district Chief Medical Officer of Health (CMOH) Rabindranath Pradhan said, “Probe is underway, we are looking into the matter.”

On Tuesday, West Bengal reported its highest single-day spike of 3,175 new Covid-19 cases, pushing the state's tally to 1,22,753 cases. The death toll from coronavirus in West Bengal has risen to 2,528 with 55 more deaths.