COVID-19 patients to face murder charges if they spit at others in Himachal

"Coronavirus patients who spit at others will be charged with an attempt to murder," warned Himachal Pradesh DGP today.

Shimla: Himachal Pradesh Police on Monday warned that coronavirus patients who spit at others will be charged with an attempt to murder, in an apparent reaction to a recent case in the state.

If the act leads to the victim contracting coronavirus and then succumbing to the disease, the offender will be booked for murder, Director General of Police Sita Ram Mardi said in a stern warning.

Doctors say droplets expelled into the air through coughing and sneezing transmit the respiratory infection, one reason why people are advised to maintain social distancing.

Countries like Britain have reported cases of deliberate spitting or a threat to do so by people who claim to be infected by a coronavirus.

In Ghaziabad recently, paramedics alleged that some Tablighi Jamaat members quarantined there were spitting and misbehaving with them. The Himachal Pradesh DGP said a case in which a coronavirus patient had spat at someone has taken place in the state, but did not give further details.

"If any coronavirus patient spits on any other person, that patient will be booked for attempt to murder under section 307 of the IPC," he said in a video message, adding that a murder charge will be slapped if this leads to death.

The source later said a coronavirus positive woman, now cured, had spat at doctors in Tanda's Dr. Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College (RPGMC).

She was booked under sections 269 and 270 of the Indian Penal Code, related to acts that spread disease, they said.

The woman had returned from a trip abroad a few days before she tested positive. (PTI)