Concerns are being raised over the seriousness of authorities to strictly maintain physical and social distancing of people kept in institutional quarantine, who either suspected to be Covid-19 carrier or vulnerable to suspected exposure as three foreigner women associated with the Tablighi Jamaat were found pregnant during their quarantine or judicial custody period.
They are among 17 foreigners including four women — all are members of the Tablighi Jamaat — who were taken into preventive custody by Ranchi police from different houses and a mosque under Hindpiri police station area on March 30. They were alleged for violating visa norms and for spreading the virus.
Their husbands are among 17 arrested accused.
They were shifted at institutional quarantine center at Khelgaon and were formally taken into judicial custody on April when an FIR was lodged against them under sections 188, 269, 270 and 271 of IPC besides section 3 of Epidemic Disease Act, section 13/14 (B) (C) of Foreigners Act 1946 and section 51 of National Disaster Act.
A local Hindpiri resident Haji Meraj alias Merajuddin was also booked and arrested by police for allegedly giving them shelter.
Bur fearing an outbreak of pandemic the jail administration decided to keep them at Khelgaon, which was converted as camp jail. They were finally shifted to Birsa Munda Central Jail on May 20.
They were released from Birsa Munda Central Jail on Tuesday, July 21 after Jharkhand High Court granted them bail. The matter was highlighted after a local vernacular daily carried a report and claimed that they got pregnant when they were under watch of administration with a concurrent quarantine period.
Notably, they were said to have conceived between April and mid of May when technically, they were under protective/preventive custody of Ranchi police under care of state health department and later on in judicial custody.
Now the health department, Jharkhand Police and jail administration are passing the buck on each other instead reviewing whether the purpose of institutional quarantine was served properly or not.
When contacted Birsa jail superintendent Ashok Kumar Choudhary declined that the jail administration is at fault. “I remember that they were taken to jail around May 20 and as per the jail manual medical test was conducted upon all 17 under-trials. The court was informed that they are carrying pregnancy. They became pregnant before they were shifted to Birsa Munda Jail. The jail inmate is one who stays on the jail premises,” said Chaudhary
Jail IG Birendra Bhushan also gave an identical reply and said that it will be too early to ascertain the fact. “Why to blame jail administration,” said Bhushan.
Sources in the jail said that questions must be asked from the health department and Ranchi district administration because these were responsible for institutional quarantine management.
As questions are being raised over management of institutional quarantine centers where these under-trial foreigners were kept; Health Secretary Dr. Nitin Madan Kulkrani refuted any mismanagement or lapse.
“That was a designated jail and they were under judicial custody where the health department has no role to play. They were kept here by the jail administration so where is the question of institutional quarantine” said Kulkrani.
A senior official of Ranchi police associated with the investigation said that these women were kept in quarantine along with their husband.
“Those who have not experienced the crisis Covid warriors faced; will not know the extraordinary situation under which we have worked. One of them was tested positive so everybody was scared to go inside the quarantine center. Some of them were very unruly whereas these women refused to stay away from their husband apparently they were very nervous,” said the official.