Tripura police on Tuesday detained seven of 25 men who fled from a COVID Care Centre (CCC) at Ambassa in Dhalai district on Monday. The men, all migrant labourers, were employed in mobile tower construction in the district.
They were housed in the CCC after they were tested positive for COVID-19. Police said seven of those who fled were detained at the Ambassa railway station in the morning and confirmed that 18 of them were still at large.
The men broke an iron grill at the back of the two-storey building and scaled the boundary wall to flee. Police personnel deployed at the entrance of the building failed to stop them.
The episode created panic among people in the district who feared spread of infection.
Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb had visited the centre at Ambassa in September last year. Mr. Deb has now been inspecting major CCCs across the State during the second wave of infections.
Laxity in security measures has been cited as a reason for repeated cases of patients fleeing care centres.
Last week, an under-trial prisoner fled from a CCC at Bishalgarh in Sepahijala district. He has not been found yet.
On April 21, 30 men who had tested positive for COVID-19 escaped from a CCC at Arundhutinagar, on the outskirts of Agartala city. Hailing from various States, they had come for a recruitment camp of the Tripura State Rifles.
They managed to leave Tripura and reached their respective States, sources said.
