Fact check: No COVID positive woman has escaped or is missing; Bengaluru Police clarifies

Amid a rise in coronavirus cases in Bengaluru, several reports of incidents related to COVID patients are being circulated on social media and fake reports.

One such incident was falsely reported claiming that a resident of Bommanahalli went missing after she was picked up by an ambulance, stating she tested COVID-positive. The Bengaluru City Police clearly debunked the false claims and issued an official investigation report of the incident. 

The Claim 

Recently, a print media report surfaced stating that a 28-year-old woman went missing after she was picked by an ambulance team. The report read, "Sangeetha (name changed) brother-in-law Vikas said that on Sep 3 afternoon, four people in PPE came to their house saying they were conducting Covid testing, took samples of the family members and also the neighbourhood."

The report further read, "But the next day, two men came in an ambulance, saying my sister-in-law was Covid-positive and she had to be shifted to Prashanth Hospital. They didn't allow her to take her phone, saying it was not allowed inside the hospital. They asked me and my brother-in-law to come to the hospital later," he said. But when they went to the hospital, they were told that there was no patient named Sangeetha." 

"We called the BBMP helpline, who told us that no door-to-door testing was commissioned by the Palike in our area, and that there was no positive patient named Sangeetha. It has been four days and my sister-in-law is still missing" Vikas said. 

A BBMP official from Bommanahalli zone was also quoted by the report stating, "The ambulance is not from BBMP nor was any test conducted from our end. The report further reads, "Sangeetha's husband filed a complaint at the Bommanhalli police station. 

The Truth

According to the investigation, the incident took place on September 4 and the complaint was also lodged on the same day at Bommanahalli Police Station. 

As per the Bengaluru City Police's investigation, the complainant alleged that his wife left the house with the help of her acquaintance after a tiff. Later on Sep 8, she called the police station to inform she was safe and sound and will return home to sort issues with her husband. This call was further recorded by the Police and was identified by her husband who confirmed that it was the voice of his wife who was absconding. This information was verified at the Bommanahalli Police Station. 

The report of the missing lady was neither connected to the BBMP team and nor related to any kind of COVID testing, said the Police investigation that the report was 'far from the truth.'

Here is the Banglore City Police statement: