india

Updated: Mar 27, 2020 08:12 IST

A young Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer in Kerala’s Kollam has been booked for jumping home quarantine and leaving for Uttar Pradesh amid rising cases of Covid-19 in the southern state, officials said on Friday.

Kollam sub-collector Anupam Mishra had come back from Singapore last week and was asked to self-quarantine but left for his hometown Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh, officials said.

His exit came to notice when health workers went to his official residence for an inquiry a few days ago.

Mishra is said to have left for Kanpur on March 21, a few days before a three-week countrywide lockdown began to check the spread of coronavirus that has affected close to 700 people in the country and claimed almost a dozen lives so far.

A senior spokesperson of the Kerala government had described the officer’s conduct as “a serious lapse on part of an IAS officer”.

The spokesperson said officials of Kerala government are in touch with their counterparts in Uttar Pradesh and will also bring the developments to the notice of the Union ministry of personnel.

Mishra’s driver, personal security guard and secretary have been put in isolation after his disappearance came to light.

Kerala has reported 138 Covid-19 cases so far and ramped up measures to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

Among the new measures, special voluntary task forces will be set up and the police have said they will enforce the lockdown ruthlessly.

Many roads have been closed with barricades to curb movement. Vehicles will be seized and occupants arrested if they are found to be violating rules, said state police chief Loknath Behera.

The government has said it will take strict action against those who raise prices of essential commodities and hoard them. It has also announced a package for lakhs of migrant workers stranded in the state. Their movement will be curtailed and they will be provided with food and lodging, officials said.