Cost of damage to property will be recovered from the accused, says U.P. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday instructed officials to recover the cost of damage to property from the persons accused of attacking health officials in Moradabad on Wednesday.

“If they don’t [pay up for the damage], their property should be seized,” a government spokesperson said quoting Mr. Adityanath.

Three persons, including a doctor, were injured when a crowd attacked a health department team that went to take samples for checking coronavirus (COVID-19) infection in the Nawabpura area of Moradabad on Wednesday, police said. The area had been declared a hotspot after one person from the area died on April 13 of suspected coronavirus infection.

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The police said it had so far arrested 17 persons, including seven women. An FIR was lodged against 21 persons and another 200 unidentified persons under various clauses, including attempt to murder and rioting.

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“We have visuals [of the accused], each person has been identified and will be sent to jail,” said Awanish Awasthi, Addtional Chief Secretary, Home.

The FIR invoked various sections of the Indian Penal Code — 147, 148, 149, 188, 269, 270, 332, 353, 307, 504, 506, 427, 34, 323 and 324. Section 7 of Criminal Law Amendment Act and relevant sections of the Public Property Damages Act, Epidemic Diseases Act and Disaster Management Act were also included in the FIR.

Mr. Awasthi said the stringent NSA would also be slapped against the accused as per Mr. Adityanath’s instructions, to prevent similar incidents in future.

Mr. Adityanath instructed police officials to accompany health workers during such operations.

No more door-to-door collection

Meanwhile, the area around Nek Wali mosque in Moradabad where the health department officials were attacked remained under complete lockdown on Thursday. The whole area was put under police cover and people were not allowed to come out of their homes.

Sandeep Badola, State president, Diploma Pharmacist Association, said health department officials would not go door-to-door for identification and sample collection. “The administration gives us a list and asks us to go and identify people in a locality for sample collection. This doesn’t come under our purview. Henceforth, the health department team will sit in the local police station and the policemen should bring the possible COVID 19 infected persons to us for sample collection or institutional quarantine. We have conveyed this to the Chief Medical Officer and the district administration,” he said.

‘Planned attack’

Moradabad CMO M.C. Garg said the injured were out of danger, but the nature of injuries suggested it was a planned attack. Apart from stones, some sharp objects were also used. “We are working out on a plan so that the security of the health professional is not compromised,” he said.