'Drone boy' takes to flight to avoid home quarantine squad

Prathap N M (alias “Drone Boy”), who is wanted on charges of breaching home quarantine, took to flight himself on Saturday in a bid to avoid being captured by police and quarantine squad members.

An authoritative source said that Prathap is responsible for two major quarantine violations. The first instance happened on July 16, when he appeared at a TV station to answer charges that he had fabricated claims of manufacturing 600 drones from discarded spare parts and of winning awards for the alleged feat.

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The second instance was when he switched off his cell phone and went on the run to avoid being captured by the quarantine squad.

The TV interview, which was made less than 24 hours after Prathap returned to the city from Hyderabad on July 15, saw him flaunt his Home Quarantine sticker on-air, said Veterinarian and forensic expert Dr Prayag H S, who has been empowered by the government to provide information about quarantine violations to the police.

“While on-air, he boasted that he had broken home quarantine rules to appear for the interview. Based on this admission, the Bengaluru Bruhat Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has filed a case,” Dr Prayag said

This flouting of the rules is said to have angered the government which is now treating Prathap as a priority case. An FIR has been registered against him at the Talaghattapura police station under the National Disaster Management Act.

One source described Prathap’s actions on-air as being a mockery of the state’s Covid-19 quarantine regulations. “If he turns out to be positive for Covid-19, everyone who was in close proximity to him at the TV station is now primary contacts,” the source said.

However, when on Saturday, police and quarantine squad members went to speak to Prathap at his home in Anjanapura, on Saturday, they found him missing.

“His phone is now turned off, but his last known location was near the Jnanabharathi campus in Kengeri, 16 kilometres away,” said Talaghattapura Police Inspector Ramappa.

Police said they have formed three teams to track down Prathap. “Although his phone has been turned off, we have his call records and are now calling everybody on that list. They are cooperating with our inquiries,” Ramappa said.

Upon recapture, Prathap will be placed in Institutional Quarantine at a facility. Further punitive steps will be decided in court, police said.