At least 10 police personnel of Mannar police station in Alappuzha have been sent into quarantine after a young woman tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) posthumously in the primary test on Thursday.
Officials said they were awaiting the result of the second test for confirmation. The woman and her husband were found dead in a rented house at Chennithala on Tuesday. "Result of her throat swab sent for SARS-CoV-2 came back positive, while her husband tested negative. Although the result of the second test is awaited, we are not taking any chances and asked all police personnel who conducted the inquest to go into quarantine," said an official.
According to sources, the couple got married on May 6. The woman, a native of Vettiyar near Mavelikara was found lying on a bed with bloodstains on her body. Her husband, a painting worker, hailing from Koorambala near Pandalam was found hanging. The police said that the exact cause of death could only be ascertained after completing the post-mortem examination.
Also read | A point to ponder over in the POCSO Bill
“Two years ago, she eloped with him. As she had not attained the legal age for marriage, the police had then registered a case against him under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The court also sent her to a children’s home. However, they got married recently and moved to a rented house,” sources added. The police have recovered two letters from their room.
