Itishree Misra (BOMBAY TIMES; March 22, 2020)

An FIR was lodged against singer Kanika Kapoor by Lucknow’s Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Narendra Kumar Agarwal at the Sarojini Nagar Police Station, Lucknow, late on Friday night under Sections 188 (disobedience of an order duly promulgated by a public servant), 269 (negligently acting in a way likely to spread the infection of any disease dangerous to life), and 270 (malignant act likely to spread the infection of any disease dangerous to life) of the Indian Penal Code.

Kanika had tested positive for the novel Coronavirus on Friday morning, and was admitted to the isolation ward at the Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGIMS), Lucknow. In his complaint, Agarwal alleges that the singer reached the city from Mumbai on March 11, after returning to India from London a day before, and since then, she had interacted socially and also participated in various functions in Lucknow despite being aware of the fact that she was supposed to quarantine herself upon coming from London.

When asked to confirm the news, Dinesh Kumar Singh, Deputy Commissioner of Police Central, Lucknow, said, “On the basis of the CMO’s complaint, an FIR was lodged against Kapoor on charges of negligently committing an act likely to spread the infection of any disease dangerous to life, a malignant act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life, and disobeying an order duly promulgated by a public servant.” According to Lucknow Police officials, two more FIRs have been registered against the singer for negligence, one each at the Hazratganj Police Station and at the Gomti Nagar Police Station.


Vasundhara Raje (fifth from left) and her son Dushyant Kumar (first from left) attended a party where Kanika Kapoor was a guest, too