The police on Tuesday detained seven of the 25 infected men who fled from a COVID Care Centre (CCC) at Ambassa in Dhalai district late on Monday night. The escapees, all migrant labourers, were employed in mobile tower construction works. They were housed in the CCC after they tested positive. The police said seven were detained at the Ambassa railway station in the morning and confirmed that 18 people were still at large.
The inmates broke an iron grill on the backside of the two-storey building and scaled the boundary wall. Police personnel deployed at the entrance of the building failed to stop them. Senior police officers who visited the CCC hoped to capture the rest. The incident created panic among people in the district.
Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb had visited the centre in September last year to see the arrangements. Mr. Deb has been inspecting major CCCs across the State as infections and fatalities are surging.
Lax security measures have been said to be the reason behind the escape of the patients. Last week, an infected undertrial prisoner fled from a CCC in Sepahijala district. He has not been caught yet. On April 21, 30 youths escaped from a CCC at Arundhutinagar.
