BHIWANDI: Amid the coronavirus outbreak, there was panic in
Bhiwandi as hundreds of used face masks were found dumped at an isolated spot near Kalher pipeline.
Acting on a complaint by revenue officials, the Narpoli police late on Sunday night filed an FIR against a Bhiwandi
godown staffer, Imran Shaikh, who was caught on camera dumping the masks at the spot. Shaikh has been booked under
Indian Penal Code Section 269 for negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life, said senior inspector Maloji Shinde. “We will interrogate him to find out who had bought the masks and if they had been imported from China,” he added.
After a video of the godown staffer dumping the used masks went viral on social media, a police team visited the godown and submitted a report to Thane zonal DCP Rajkumar Shinde, who dashed off a letter to the district health administration to look into the matter.
Thane collector Rajesh Narvekar told TOI that on Sunday morning, officials from the district health administration, revenue and
Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB), along with the police, reached the spot near Kalher pipeline. MPCB officials seized the masks and sent them to a lab to check if they had been contaminated by Covid-19 or any other virus. After the test results are in, the MPCB will dispose of the biomedical waste.
Shashikant Gaikwad, Bhiwandi revenue officer, said: “The police will investigate from where these masks were imported and the medical report will clarify if they were contaminated or not.”
As a preventive measure, the spot was sanitised to avoid any health-related issues in the locality.
Revenue officials also requested residents to avoid the area till the lab test report is submitted.