A Bengaluru techie’s wife who was recently tested positive of COVID-19, and has allegedly tried to dodge the pandemic disease testing has been booked by the Agra administration for not following quarantine instructions and ‘fleeing’ to her native – Agra, by flight and train. The case has been registered under Sections 269 and 270 of the Criminal Procedure Code, in Sadar Bazar police station of Agra.

On 6 March, the 25-year-old woman, wife of a Google employee, who lives in the Agra Cantonment railway colony, had returned to India from Europe, following their honeymoon. After they returned, on 7 March, her husband was tested positive for the coronavirus in Bengaluru, while she returned to her family in Agra. On 9 March, the woman took a flight to Delhi and then a train to Agra to meet her parents. This led to the accusations that the woman fled from Bengaluru to Agra to avoid testing and isolation.

However, this was later denied by Google (the company her husband is working with), which stated that he was tested positive on 12 March. The Google spokesperson added that the couple only traveled to Greece, Switzerland, and France; not Italy, as previously reported.

Subsequently, the Agra District Magistrate, Prabhu N Singh, directed the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) to file an FIR against the woman, whose husband was tested positive of the pandemic disease.

Soon, a health team was sent to the woman’s house in Agra where her father allegedly misled the team about her whereabouts, stating that she had already left for Bangalore.

“The family lied to us about her whereabouts, saying she had left for Delhi by train, from where she will board a flight for Bengaluru. They refused to cooperate with the medical team jeopardizing the safety of several others,” stated the District Magistrate.

Further, a probe was initiated to track the woman, which involved a joint secretary, the state government, the central government, the secretary, and the police intelligence. However, later it was found that the woman never left Agra, compelling the officials to go back to her house and bring in all the people to the isolation wards. It was reported that the woman even escaped from the isolation ward.

The Agra Chief Medical Officer, Mukesh Kumar Vats stated that “On 12 March, we were alerted about the woman’s presence in Agra and she was taken to the district hospital for her blood and other sample collection. The same evening, the woman went away from the hospital, even though the doctors on duty explained to her and her family that since her husband had tested positive, she is most likely to have got infected.”

Subsequently, on 14 March, the woman’s parents and six other family members were tested negative for the virus.