A junior engineer of the irrigation department, arrested by the CBI for alleged sexual exploitation of children, has tested positive for COVID-19, officials said on Tuesday.
The junior engineer, Ram Bhavan, who is lodged in the Banda jail for the last seven days, was found to be COVID-positive in his medical reports received late on Monday, Deputy Jailor Vishweshwar Pratap Singh said.
On November 18, when the accused was brought to the jail, his COVID-19 test report was negative, but a subsequent RT-PCR test revealed that he had contracted the disease, the deputy jailor said, adding that he is the only inmate in the jail who has tested positive for the coronavirus and is undergoing treatment in the jail hospital.
The remand application of the accused is scheduled to be heard on Tuesday.
Bhavan was arrested on November 16 by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on charges of alleged sexual exploitation of children for the last 10 years and selling video clips and photographs of his nefarious acts on the darknet to paedophiles across the globe.
He was subsequently suspended.