Doctors, Cops Escorting Possible COVID-19 Patient Attacked In Moradabad, UP

A team of doctors and other medical staff were attacked by the locals in Moradabad, a town in western Uttar Pradesh, when they went there to take primary contacts of a COVID-19 patient who died, to a quarantine facility. A police team escorting the doctors was also attacked. Some policemen and a doctor have been injured but no one has serious injuries. 

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who has ordered the invocation of the stringent National Security Act in such cases, said action will be taken against the accused under it. Any loss to public property will also be recovered from them, he said.

Visuals from the Nawab Pura colony, located in the central part of the city, showed smashed police jeeps and a road littered with stones and bricks.

Amit Pathak, a senior police officer in Moradabad, said a COVID-19 patient had died in the area and the doctors were trying to quarantine his immediate contacts. 

"A medical and police team came here. When the family members were boarding ambulances, a crowd of around 150 people came and started throwing stones. A police car and ambulance are damaged. We will identify the culprits and act against them," the officer added. 

"When our team boarded the ambulance with the patient, a crowd emerged and started throwing stones. Some doctors are still there. We are injured," the driver of the ambulance that came under attack, was quoted as saying by news agency ANI. 

State government data shows Moradabad has 19 coronavirus cases. A few days ago, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had ordered that the stringent National Security Act be invoked against those attacking doctors, policemen or others at the front line of the battle against coronavirus.