Harish Kumar K, deputy commissioner of Uttara Kannada, told The Quint that neither him nor his officials have conveyed any such information as being claimed by Public TV and Opindia.

“The bulletin ran only on the basis of a localite’s quote. I am the competent authority with whom this information should have been verified first. But, they didn’t ask me. Nor have my officials given any such information. Everybody is working in cooperation. People in Bhatkal live with communal harmony. Do you think at the time of crisis, when the situation is about life and death, people will think which religion they belong to and the get themselves tested?”

Speaking to The Quint, KC Gautam, DSP Bhatkal, said that nobody has refused to get themselves tested in Bhatkal, and definitely not on the basis of any religion.

“People come from Dubai to Mangalore first since Mangalore has an airport and then to Bhatkal. Nobody has refused to get themselves tested. We are regularly checking people who are coming from abroad if they show symptoms of coronavirus. There is no communal angle to this,” Gautam said.