Home ministry adviser, CRPF DG in quarantine after indirect contact with Covid-19 patient
New Delhi: The Union home ministry’s senior security adviser, K. Vijay Kumar, and top officers of the CRPF, including Director General A.P. Maheshwari, have gone into self-quarantine as a precautionary measure after coming in indirect contact with the force’s chief medical officer.
The CMO tested positive for the novel coronavirus Thursday, security sources told ThePrint, adding that at least 20 individuals have gone into self-quarantine, but none have shown any symptoms of Covid-19.
It was not immediately clear how the medical officer got Covid-19. He was residing in the Officers’ Mess in New Delhi’s Saket.
“An officer of the CRPF who was deputed with K. Vijay Kumar was staying in the same complex as the CMO. He and all those who he was in contact with have been put under quarantine,” a source said.
Besides CRPF DG Maheshwari, the other senior officers now in quarantine include the Additional Director General (Ops), Inspector General (Medical) and the Deputy Inspector General (Ops).
‘Setting an example’
Sources said following the deadly Naxal attack in Chhattisgarh a couple of weeks ago, the CRPF brass, along with Vijay Kumar, had made two visits to the state.
On one such visit, the officer staying in Saket who was deputed to Vijay Kumar also accompanied the team.
“The self-quarantine by the DG and others in the CRPF is precautionary in nature. It is also to set an example of how one should behave even if they have come into indirect contact with a coronavirus patient. They are all working from home,” a senior officer of the CRPF said.
Vijay Kumar is a retired 1975 batch officer of the Indian Police Service (IPS), who also served as the CRPF DG. He is an advisor to the home ministry on security matters related to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, as well as Left-Wing Extremism.
