COVID-19: Plea filed before Delhi court seeking NIA probe on coronavirus spread

The complaint alleged that even though the intelligence agencies and agencies responsible for oversight of immigration into India were aware of the risk associated with the virus, they did not issue any warnings, directions, or take any steps to control the spread of the virus in the early stages.

New Delhi: A plea was filed in a Delhi Court on Tuesday seeking a probe by the National Investigating Agency (NIA) into the spread of the COVID-19 virus which allegedly originated from China. The plea filed by former Director-General of Health and Services, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Dr Jagdish Prasad, urged the court to direct the NIA to lodge an FIR for various offences punishable under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Weapons of Mass Destruction and their Delivery Systems (Prohibition of Unlawful Activities) Act and Indian Penal Code. In the complaint filed before Special Judge Dinesh Kumar Sharma, Prasad said it was public knowledge that the origin of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS- CoV-2), which causes COVID-19, was in the city of Wuhan in Hubei Province, China.