Wardha Covid deceased had bootlegging links

Wardha: The 35-year-old woman from Hiwara (Tanda) village in Arvi tehsil, who became the first Covid-19 casualty in the district on May 8, and her husband were allegedly involved in illicit country liquor business in the dry district and hence may have come in contact with someone who was already infected, sources said.

Relying on the call detail record, superintendent of police Basavaraj Teli had claimed that the woman had not travelled beyond 10km from her village in the last three months. However, sources said the woman used to travel to other districts like Nagpur, Yavatmal and Amravati for smuggling liquor into the district.

Arvi police inspector Sampat Chavan said cases have been registered against her husband for illicit liquor business. Sources also said the woman was famous in the tehsil because of her liquor connection. Hundreds of people from more than 10 villages had attended her funeral on May 8 midnight.

Sub-divisional officer Harish Dharmik said, “Though it was known that the woman was engaged in illicit liquor business, but according to our findings she had not gone out of district since the lockdown.”

The deceased woman belonged to nomadic tribe and her village is in remote area. Her relatives claimed she did not die due to coronavirus and there may be some mistake in the swab test report.

District collector Vivek Bhimanwar said we have to wait for test reports of her relatives and neighbours. Swab samples of 28 of her close contacts have been sent for testing.

Sources from Hiwara village and Arvi claimed that the administration was hiding information about the woman’s travel. Liquor is prohibited in Wardha district. “As the district was sealed after the lockdown was imposed, admitting to the woman’s travel will bare the administration’s failure and hence facts are being suppressed,” claimed a source from Arvi.

After the woman tested Covid positive after her death, the administration has now sealed Garpit, Tokan, Brahmanwada and Khairwada villages of Karanja tehsil apart from Hiwara (Tanda) and a few other villages as several residents from there had attended the deceased’s funeral. The woman was suffering with asthma and visited a private hospital in Arvi twice last week.