COVID positive MLA visits Hathras victim's family, booked for flouting quarantine norms

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Kuldeep Kumar from Delhi's Kondli constituency was booked for allegedly violating the Epidemic Act in Hathras' Chandpa Police Station. Kuldeep, MLA from Kondali Vidhan Sabha in Delhi, had gone to meet the family on October 4.

According to Uttar Pradesh police, Kuldeep Kumar tested positive on September 29 and he himself tweeted and gave the information to the public about him going into isolation due to the virus. But on October 4, he appeared in Hathras with a few of his supporters and had also gone and met the family of the victim girl in their village.

Subsequently, he put out a video on his Twitter handle of meeting the girl's family. In the video, he is seen sitting with the girls' father and her other relatives.

SP (Hathras), Vineet Jaiswal, told Mirror Now that he has violated the pandemic act and that is why he is booked. They will send him a notice to come and join the probe when 14 days of his isolation time end.

Mirror Now also confronted the AAP legislator as to why he went there. Kumar said on October 4, he was again tested and found to be negative and then only he went to meet the family of the victim.

On the question of why he came out despite the health ministry guidelines of remaining in isolation for 14 days, he said he doesn't know the guidelines of ICMR but once the report came negative, he thought he could go.

One more case is registered against at Chandpa police station against the local leader for giving a provocating speech in the village on Tuesday.

With these two cases, a total of eight cases have been registered in Hathras district and out of these total cases, six are registered in Chandpa Police Station under the jurisdiction of which the girl's village falls.

The girl, who was allegedly assaulted on September 14 in Hathras, died on September 29 in Delhi's Safdarjung Hospital and subsequently, her body was cremated at her native village on the same night.

After her cremation, the UP government had to face a lot of criticism from opposition parties.

When asked about Kuldeep Kumar's Hathras visit, AAP spokesperson Durgesh Pathak said he is "yet to get in touch with Kumar and he is not sure if he had tested negative and then gone to Hathras or not.""I don't have much information on it yet," Durgesh Pathak told PTI.