JOIN USBihar cop would have to follow quarantine: BMC
Maintaining an aggressive position, the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation has conveyed to the Bihar police that IPS officer Vijay Tiwari would have to follow the quarantine norms of the Maharashtra government.
Tiwari, the superintendent of police of Patna Central, who landed in Mumbai on Sunday to supervise the investigations of the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, has been forcibly quarantined at the SRPF guest house at Goregaon.
BMC’s additional commissioner of police P Velrasu, in a letter to Patna Central Region’s inspector general of police Sanjay Singh, said: “…the officer has to be in compliance with all the rules and regulations prevailing in the state of Maharashtra.”
The letter was issued on Tuesday, however, made public on Wednesday. It said that in view of Covid-19 pandemic situation in Bihar, it has been advised that the officer can conduct his proceedings with various concerned officials of the government of Maharashtra on digital platforms like Zoom, Google Meet, Jio Meet, Microsoft Teams or other similar mediums to interact.
This will not only ensure that the officer does not transmit the infection, if at all he is asymptomatic of Covid-19 infection, to the officials to whom he will contact, in view of the pandemic situation in Bihar nor he gets infected by Covid-19 during his various visits to various officials to the government of Maharashtra in Mumbai, said Velrasu in the letter.
It may be recalled that on Monday, the BMC had said: “Being a domestic air traveller, he needs to be guided for home quarantine as per the State government guidelines. Accordingly, the P/Southward team approached him at the said guesthouse on Sunday evening,” the official said.
The official said that the BMC team explained to him the whole procedure for domestic air travellers, including home quarantine, which is fixed by the State government notification dated 25 May 2020 under number DMU/2020/CR. 92/DisM-1.
“He has also been guided to apply to the competent authority of BMC for exemption in the home quarantine period as per the State government notification,” the official said.
A Maharashtra police official said that arrangements were made for a stay in Goregaon as the Worli police mess is non-operational because of Covid-19 and a Maruti Ertiga vehicle was also organised. "All courtesies befitting to an IPS officer were duly extended to Vinay Tiwari," the official said.