SHILLONG: A magisterial inquiry has been ordered by the government into the lapses, violation of conditions of transit passes and possible suppression of facts by the marriage party from Shillong that went to Greenwood Resort in Guwahati on June 27 and ending up in importing the novel coronavirus.
East Khasi Hills ADM M. Lakiang, who has been entrusted with the task, has to submit the findings on Wednesday to enable the government to fix responsibility and take penal actions.
According to official sources, five separate transit passes were issued to the bride and four other residents of Shillong for a one-way journey to Guwahati. One of the key conditions of the passes was that only one person was allowed to travel in each vehicle.
According to official records available, as many as 27 persons attended the wedding against the five passes issued. This was a gross violation of the conditions laid down by the administration.
It now transpires that the transit passes were applied under the category of “death/ hospitalisation of a person in family”, while description of emergency was recorded as “my wedding ceremony, cousin sister’s wedding, wedding ceremony of my sister” etc.
The wedding party returned the same night after attending the ceremony which was in contravention of the conditions of the pass.
The matter would have gone unnoticed but for the detection of a positive case in Ri Bhoi who turned out to be the resort’s cook. This led to an emergency contact tracing exercise and 27 names emerged from different localities of Shillong. The entire group was quarantined even though they initially tested negative.
To make things grim, two of them have since been tested positive making the gross violation of the transit pass a case for possible penal action.
The magisterial enquiry is expected to establish the charges of willful suppression of facts, misuse of passes and endangering health safety of the people at large.
Reception held at Lower Lachumiere
Consequent to the wedding at Greenwood Resort, Guwahati on June 27, it has now emerged that another reception was held on July 2 at the residence of the bride’s mother at Lower Lachumiere, Shillong.
The Joint Secretary, Health & Family Welfare Department has instructed that all persons who attended the reception at Lower Lachumiere on July 2 are to come forward for identification and further necessary action as per COVID-19 protocols.
The authorities have warned that non-compliance with the instruction could invite penal action under the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 and other legal provisions.
Attendees have been asked to contact the surveillance team of the Health department on the helpline numbers 96152-89714, 94361-05494 or 89710-52320.
