Assam government has initiated action against around 300 air passengers who landed at Silchar airport on April 21 and “fled” skipping the mandatory COVID-19 testing.
Officials said that criminal cases have been filed against the travellers for not following the rules.
As per the Assam government’s revised rules on account of the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, all incoming air passengers are meant to undergo Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) and RT-PCR tests on arrival. Since Silchar airport is small, testing is conducted at the Tikol model hospital located nearby.
“On Wednesday, 690 people landed at Silchar, out of which 300 went away skipping the test, we have filed FIR against all of them,” said Sumit Sattawan, ADC, Health, Cachar district.
“Regarding how they ran away and other details, we are still investigating what exactly happened,” he said, adding that the passengers concerned would be traced.
The official said that the passengers are taken to the centre from the airport by buses provided by the administration.
“They can also move in their own vehicle by giving an undertaking and vehicle/driver details,” he said.
