COVID patients flee Tripura facility, many may have boarded train to other states

AGARTALA: At least 25 COVID patients escaped from a temporary care centre at Ambassa in Tripura, following which a massive search operation was launched by the police and only seven of them could be apprehended from a railway station, an official said on Wednesday.

All the patients, who fled the COVID care centre at Panchayat Raj Training Institute (PRTI) on Monday night, are migrant workers who came from other states, sad Himadri Sarkar, the officer-in-charge of the Ambassa police station.

"We have informed all the police stations about the incident and alerted the railway authorities since they came here from other states. We have initiated a search operation to trace them," he said.

Seven of those who escaped were apprehended from the Ambassa railway station, police said.

After a preliminary investigation, police said they suspect that 18 patients might have boarded a train and left the state.

On April 22, 31 COVID patients escaped from a COVID centre in the Arundhatinagar area of Agartala.

They had come from other states to appear for an interview for recruitment in Tripura State Rifles (TSR).

They are yet to be traced, officials said.

From April 24, the Tripura government has made it mandatory for people coming to the state to carry a COVID- negative report.

Otherwise, they will have to undergo a rapid antigen test.