MUMBAI: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) S-ward recently wrote a letter to the Powai police asking to quash the first information report (FIR) that they have registered against a 30-year-old homemaker and her two children—a 13-year-old son and 11-year-old daughter—for allegedly fleeing from the institutional quarantine that they were placed at Hill Grange building in Hiranandani Gardens on March 10.
The case was registered the next day when the officials found out that the three—Meena Gupta, her son Sumit and daughter Arpita—has been missing from the list of 60 people who were placed under quarantine in the building. The officials also got the homemaker treated for the ankle twist she suffered after she jumped a six-foot wall at the quarantine centre while fleeing with her kids.
The officials told the police to do the necessary paperwork to submit to the court to cancel the FIR and not to arrest the mother and children who are not criminal or accused in any case. “The police said they will do the paperwork which they will submit to the court for quashing of the case. The woman and her kids are not criminals or accused. The case was registered in the morning and by evening they were tracked and brought back and kept in quarantine. She fled away fearing that something wrong will happen to her. We counselled her and made her understand,” the BMC official told TOI.
The BMC officials informed the police that they have tracked the mother and children to a place in Kalwa within 24 hours where they had gone hiding fearing getting quarantined for 10 days after they were tested Covid-19 positive. “The BMC officials learnt about the three people missing from the centre after the security guard called and informed him. The BMC officials filed the complaint and deployed a team for searching the mother and children. The team first reached their Bhandup home and from there they received information that there are chances of them going to Kalwa from where they were tracked,” said a police officer.
A Powai police officer confirmed the FIR for violation of the pandemic prohibitory orders, disaster and epidemic management Act. They will submit the report to the court for quashing the FIR as the BMC wanted to cancel the case.