50 refuse quarantine in Bengaluru; sent back

Bengaluru: About 50 passengers, who refused to undergo the 14-day institutional quarantine in the city after arriving in a special train earlier in the day, opted to go back to New Delhi in the return train, an official said on Thursday.

"An extra AC 3-tier coach has been attached to the special train (#02691) to take back about 50 passengers who refused the mandatory 14-day quarantining on returning to the city after being stranded in Delhi for over 50 days due to the lockdown and suspension of train services," Bengaluru railway divional manager A.K. Verma told IANS.

Though initially about 160 returnees wanted to go back to Delhi by the night train, about 100 of them withdrew later and reconciled to undergo the mandatory quarantine, as about 500 returnees did during the day, albeit very reluctantly.

"Sending the passengers unwilling for quarantining in the return train was decided by the Karnataka government in consultation with the Railway Police Force (RPF), as they cannot go home for the next 14 days and to avoid a law and order problem in the station, as many of them resorted to protests in the station since they arrived earlier in the day," said Verma.

"The final number of passengers who went back to Delhi will be known after the special train leaves the city stations at 8:30 pm," said Verma.

Though 920 passengers boarded the superfast train in New Delhi on Tuesday night, 680 arrived in this tech city earlier in the day, as 240 of them alighted at 5-6 stations en route to their destination. About 200 of the returnees protested against institutional quarantining in hotels and hostels and insisted on going home for same to ensure they are free from coronavirus.