HC notice to AK Hegde, CT Ravi over derogatory remarks against Tipu Sultan

Bengaluru, Mar 19: To better enforce social distancing and prevent further spread of Covid-19, the Karnataka health and family welfare department on Wednesday said it will "stamp the back of the palm" of international passengers advised to be on home quarantine, along with the date they are allowed to get out of home. The stamping process began at 12am Thursday.

Pankaj Kumar Pandey, commissioner, health and family welfare, said: "It is noted that a few passengers under home quarantine are not following the instructions. Therefore, it has been decided to stamp the back of the palm of their left hand with a specially designed stamp which will indicate the last day of quarantine."

He said the special stamp will use an indelible ink and "airports in Karnataka have been instructed to follow this without fail". On average, about 3,000 people are arriving in Bengaluru on international flights every day.

The department said social distancing is the only known method of combating the spread of Covid-19 and added, "International passengers are segregated as symptomatic and asymptomatic."

High-risk flyers kept at mass quarantine unit

The symptomatic passengers (Group-A) are taken to designated hospitals; asymptomatic ones, depending on the port of origin, are taken to the quarantine centre or permitted to go on home quarantine.

At the mass quarantine centre, the asymptomatic passengers are divided into moderate-risk (Group-B) and high-risk (Group-C) categories.

“The high-risk passengers are kept at a mass quarantine centre for medical observation. The moderate-risk passengers are being sent for home quarantine where they need to spend 14 days,” the statement added.

Pandey said: “International passengers changing flights within the country cannot be stopped. Ideally, they should be stamped at the first port of entry when they arrive from a foreign country which is not happening.” He said this issue will be brought to the notice of the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation.

Bengaluru, Feb 10: Two Iranian nationals have been arrested by the Karnataka police for allegedly stealing money from car showrooms by diverting cashiers’ attention in Mangaluru, Udupi and Bengaluru.

The arrested are Saeed Rostami, 26 and his friend Saber Hossein Eghbalzadeh, 35, are both residents of Tehran and in India on tourist visa. They were caught by the sleuths of Bengaluru’s RMC Yard police station.

The accused would approach the cashiers, asking for change for Rs 2000 notes to divert their attention and flee with cash from the showroom. 

The duo landed in New Delhi on January 16. Later, they arrived in coastal Karnataka before reaching Bengaluru on February 1. 

The same day around 4pm, the two visited Trident Automobile Pvt Ltd’s service centre in RMC Yard. They went to cashier Kiran and sought change for Rs 2000. One of them dropped the note and Kiran picked it up for him. Meanwhile, Kiran also noticed there was no change in his cash box and informed the duo accordingly. 

“Kiran later realised Rs 44,000 was missing from the cash box. He verified CCTV footage and found the two visitors stole the money when he bent down to pick up the Rs 2000 note,” a police officer said.

Kiran filed a theft and cheating case against the men. RMC Yard police suggested Kiran circulate the footage at other car showrooms and service centres as they had heard about similar incidents being reported from Udupi, Mangaluru and other places in Bengaluru.

“Sharing of CCTV footage helped us nab the suspects. They visited a showroom near Cauvery junction on Ballari Road on February 6. The staff noticed the duo and realised they were the same guys, who had stolen the money at RMC Yard and informed us,” said police.