Kollam: Kerala government on Friday suspended Kollam sub-collector Anupam Mishra for defying home quarantine and fleeing his official residence.
The Indian Administrative Service officer, who was asked to go on home quarantine after returning from his honeymoon trip abroad, fled his official residence in Kollam on Thursday.
The government took the action based on a report from Kollam district collector B Abdul Nasser.
In his report, Nasser stated that Mishra had violated the law and service rules.
Mishra, who got married recently, was on vacation till March 18. He went to Singapore and Malaysia with his wife for honeymoon. Though he rejoined for duty on March 19, he was asked to go on home quarantine because of his foreign travel history.
All persons coming to India from abroad have been strictly asked to go on home quarantine in the wake of coronavirus outbreak.
Nasser had said the sub-collector, when contacted over phone, said he was in Bengaluru. "However, his mobile tower location has been traced to Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh," he said.
Meanwhile, Kollam District Police Chief T Narayanan informed that a case has been registered against Mishra based on a complaint from the health department for violating the quarantine norms.
Mishra could not be contacted for his reaction.
Incidentally, Kollam is the only district in Kerala that has not recorded even a single COVID-19 cases till Thursday.