Bengaluru airport staff take bribe for Covid-19 test: Karnataka MLA Vinisha Nero

In a startling revelation, Anglo-Indian MLA Vinisha Nero told the Legislative Assembly that she paid a bribe of Rs 9,000 to get her Covid-19 RT-PCR report within minutes at the Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru.

“There’s huge corruption at the airport,” Nero said during a discussion. “I had an RT-PCR report from Bowring Hospital, which was not accepted. I was told that I’d have to wait six hours if I pay Rs 800, two hours if I pay Rs 3,200 and just 15 minutes if I pay an additional Rs 1,200. I paid Rs 9,000 in spite of them knowing I’m an MLA. Like this, there were more than 100 people in one flight who paid Rs 3,200 plus Rs 1,200 bribe to the airport officials. I got my RT-PCR printout in under three minutes,” she said.

She was speaking on a calling attention notice raised by Shantinagar legislator NA Haris, who asked the government to fix a uniform rate for Covid-19 tests being done at the Bengaluru airport.

“People are charged Rs 3,200 for a rapid antigen test (RAT) at the airport and the result is out immediately. In my constituency, the RAT costs just Rs 150-200. The RT-PCR test that’s done at the airport costs just Rs 800,” Haris said and asked why the RAT rate was so high. “This is daylight robbery.”

Responding to this, Health & Medical Education Minister K Sudhakar said the Covid-19 test is done only for people on inbound flights entering the airport. “We haven’t said anywhere that the RAT should be done. The rule is to do an RT-PCR test for which the cost is Rs 800. The report will be out in 4-5 hours,” he said.

Sudhakar said there is an express test whose result is out in 15 minutes. “This Abbott express test is for outbound flyers and it’s not mandatory,” he said.

Contesting this, Haris said he got a RAT done himself. “That’s the Abbott express test and it’s compulsory. Without it, people aren’t allowed to board the flight,” he said.

Sudhakar said the Abbott express test is cartridge-based and cannot be conducted on a large scale. “It looks like the legislator does not have the proper information. I will have my officials explain to him the difference between RAT, RT-PCR and the Abbott test,” the minister said.

Check out the latest DH videos here: