Coronavirus, Delhi: The guard said he was not on the run but had been quarantined (Representational)
A security guard accused of infecting three of a family in Delhi's Defence Colony has tested negative for COVID-19, NDTV has found.
The three were being treated at Max Hospital, Saket. An elderly man in his 80s died on Wednesday and his son is on the ventilator. The man's wife has recovered and has been discharged.
The family had blamed their security guard, accusing him of visiting the Tablighi Jamaat gathering last month, which emerged as a major virus hotspot linked to cases across the country.
But the guard's test report, accessed by NDTV, is negative. The test was conducted by RML hospital on 11 April, but days later, an officer at the Defence Colony police station said the report was still awaited.
Based on the family's accusations, the guard was charged by the police.
The police had claimed that his mobile phone records had placed him in the Nizamuddin area. The Tablighi Jamaat centre where the gathering was held, Markaz Nizamuddin, is also in the area.
They had put up a notice in the upscale colony, naming the guard and warning residents that he may have visited the Tablighi gathering and was missing. WhatsApp messages were also sent.
In the past week, however, there was no news on whether the guard had tested positive for coronavirus. Reports said he had been tracked down by the police and quarantined. Some even claimed he was missing.
NDTV spoke to the guard, who said he was not on the run but had been quarantined in his one-room dwelling in Okhla. His landlord has received a call from RML Hospital that his COVID test report was negative.
"They told me it's negative. So you don't have to worry anymore," the guard said on the phone.
He denied that he had ever visited the Tablighi centre. "I have never stepped inside the Nizamuddin Markaz. I never used to go to the Markaz. I used to go the mosque that is 20 metres away. The mosque used to open and shut at its regular timings and I would leave right after the namaaz. I will not lie to you."
A police officer, not wishing to be named, confirmed this to NDTV. "The update that we have obtained from the hospital is that it is negative," he said.