Thieves Cook Mutton, Rice In COVID-19 Patient’s Home

In an unusual incident of theft reported from Jharkhand’s Jamshedpur, thieves cooked mutton, rice and chapatis and feasted after breaking into a COVID-19 patient’s house and then fled with Rs 50,000 cash and jewellery.

The incident took place in Jamshedpur’s Haludboni area under the territorial jurisdiction of Parsudih police station on Thursday night. The police confirmed it on Saturday. A worker of Jugsalai Nagar Parishad’s surveillance team had contracted COVID-19 infection and is being administered treatment at Tata Main Hospital (TMH) in the city. Using sharp weapons, the thieves broke open the rear door of the COVID-19 patient’s sealed house and entered, according to the police.

According to a report by Hindustan Times, the neighbours informed the patient’s brother about the broken rear door when he went there to check the house on Friday. Subsequently, he filed a police complaint stating that “the thieves cooked mutton, rice and chapatis and feasted in the house before fleeing.”

The COVID-19 patient tested positive for the infection on July 8. The authorities sealed his house and declared it, along with neighbouring areas, as a containment zone. For the last one month, the patient’s wife and children have been staying in their native village, according to the patient’s brother.

“Thieves stole Rs 50,000 cash and jewellery worth Rs 50,000 from the house of a Covid-19 patient undergoing treatment at Tata Main Hospital (TMH) here”, HT quoted Alok Ranjan, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) as saying. He added that police guards have been deployed in the area and an investigation is underway.