On Sunday, an angry broke created chaos in the sealed-down ward of Padarayanapura in Bengaluru when health department officials and workers visited the area to shift people to the quarantine facility. The chaos soon turned violent as people were seen toppling down barricades and breaking chairs and tables in the area. Early reports suggested that the health workers were attacked in the incident.
Padarayanapura is one of the two wards in the city which has been sealed down after a spike in a number of COVID-19 cases was reported. The incident has put shame and misery to the government of Karnataka as weeks on containment were broken.
Here are 10 things you need to know about the incident.
The trigger point
According to the BBMP statement, the violence broke out when people were being shifted to the quarantine facility as a part of the protocol. They protested and soon it broke into violence.
58 Secondary contacts to be shifted
The ward had 58 secondary contacts who needed to be shifted to quarantine facility out of which 11 were already shifted. When the workers came to escort others, the violence broke out.
Rumors triggered the event, say sources
According to some sources, the violence in Padarayanapura was triggered by rumors of some more residents of the ward being shifted to the quarantine facility. However, there is no clarity on what triggered the violence.
Protestors demand Zameer Ahmed’s presence
The protestors demanded the police to bring Zameer Ahmed, the MLA of the region, to the spot saying that he is responsible for the ward and they would listen to him.
Protestors claim insufficient food
According to some reports, protestors claimed there is no sufficient food and hence were trying to get more food by stepping out. BBMP confirmed this in their statement.
Zameer Ahmed Tweet
Following the incident, Zameer Ahmed took to twitter and urged the people of Padarayanapura to follow the guidelines of the BBMP and said the sealdown is important.
No ASHA worker injured
The state secretary of the ASHA union spoke to a media outlet and said that no ASHA worker was injured in the incident and also said neither were they attacked.
Rioters to be booked
The police department has said that those responsible for the incident would be booked under the National Disaster Management Act and they will be using CCTV footage to identify the miscreants.
Over 50 people arrested
In a late-night operation, Police have arrested over 50 miscreants in relation to the incident as reported by a media outlet. The search for the rest is on.
Security Strengthens
Following the incident, the security in Padarayanapura has been strengthened and surveillance is underway to find the attackers. Along with that, the COVID-19 protocol is also underway.
Source: The News Minute
