Police fact-check shows woman had a row with husband, called cops to say she would sort out marital dispute
BENGALURU:
The sensational story of a female Covid patient who went missing after she was picked up by an ambulance to be taken to a hospital has turned out to be a fake. The ‘fact check’ page of the Karnataka state police website portal said the story was false and far from the truth, as verified by the fact-check team with the Bommanahalli police.
The New Indian Express had on September 9 reported that a 28-year-old resident of Bommanahalli had given her swab samples to a door-to-door BBMP testing team on September 3, following which an ambulance came to take her to a hospital. According to the woman’s brother-in-law, she was not allowed to take her mobile with her. Later, when her kin went to the hospital concerned, they were told there was no patient of that name there.
According to the newspaper report, BBMP staff told her kin that no door-to-door testing was commissioned by the Palike in their area and that there was no positive patient by her name. The report quoted a relative as saying the woman had been missing for four days and that her husband filed a complaint with the Bommanahalli police.
What police found
According to the police fact-check, the husband of the woman gave a missing complaint to the Bommanahalli police on September 4.
A police investigation found that the complainant and his wife had a dispute and the woman left the house with the help of a friend. On September 8, she called the investigating officer and her recorded voice was identified by her husband. She said she was safe and would sort things out with her husband.
The fact-check page said the incident had nothing to do with BBMP or Covid testing, and that the twist given to the story was misleading and mischievous.
In a tweet, DGP Praveen Sood shared the link to the police fact-check page.
‘Covid positive’ woman in Bengaluru goes missing after ambulance picks her up -Facts – Karnataka State Police FactCheck https://t.co/8jqvndQZOh
— DGP KARNATAKA (@DgpKarnataka) September 13, 2020
Thank you for the speedy investigation and prompt clarification, sir. All appreciation to the police team of @DCPSEBCP @acp-Mico layout & others, from Team @BommanhalliBBMP! 👍👍@nimmasuresh @BlrCityPolice
— Captain Manivannan (@Captain_Mani72) September 13, 2020
