"Pak Now Exporting Coronavirus Patients To Jammu And Kashmir": Top Cop

Pakistan is trying to push people infected with coronavirus into Jammu and Kashmir to spread the highly contagious virus among the people of Kashmir valley, a top police officer has said.

Jammu and Kashmir Police chief Dilbag Singh made the claim after visiting a COVID-19 quarantine facility in Ganderbal district, 20 km from Srinagar. Mr Singh said "it's a fact that Pakistan is trying to send COVID-19 patients" to Kashmir Valley.

"Certain things have come to the fore. So far, Pakistan has been sending terrorists to Kashmir, but it is now exporting coronavirus patients to spread the virus among people of Kashmir. It's an issue we have to be cautious about and it's very disturbing," Mr Singh said.

The claim comes a week after a top Army commander said they have received intelligence inputs that Pakistan was sending COVID-19 patients into Pakistan-occupied Kashmir or PoK to prep them for infiltration to India.

PoK has reported some 50 COVID-19 cases, many of them from Mirpur district.

Earlier this month, an infiltration attempt in the high-altitude Keran sector was stopped by the Army's special forces. Five terrorists were shot dead. Five Indian soldiers also lost their lives.

In the days following the encounter, there had been a heavy exchange of artillery fire between India and Pakistan along the Line of Control or LoC. Three civilians were killed and several were injured in shelling by Pakistan in Kupwara district.

Jammu and Kashmir has reported over 400 coronavirus cases. Most of them are from Kashmir valley. Three policemen have also been tested positive.

The number of COVID-19 patients in India rose to 21,393 this morning, according to Health Ministry data. A total of 1,409 new cases and 41 deaths have been reported in the last 24 hours; 681 have died due to the highly infectious disease in India since the pandemic reached the country. The number of patients who recovered from COVID-19 stands at 4,258.

While the total number of confirmed infections continues to climb, government health officials have said the speed of transmission is slowing thanks to the nationwide lockdown that began on March 25 and in place until at least May 3.