To beat lockdown, Indian man buys 28 tonnes of onions and drives 869 miles disguised as a seller
“I was stuck in Mumbai. Given the number of cases being reported in the city, I was scared and hence I had no option but to return home”
A man in India traveled more than 800 miles home disguised as an onion seller in a desperate attempt to reach home during the country's strict coronavirus lockdown.
However, he was sent to quarantine by the local police after reaching his destination.
According to police, Prem Murti Pandey, an employee at Mumbai's airport, loaded a truck with 28 tonnes of onion and traveled around 1,400 kilometers (869 miles) from Mumbai to his home in Prayagraj, northern India, reports the CNN.
"I was stuck in Mumbai. Given the number of cases being reported in the city, I was scared and hence I had no option but to return home," Pandey sad.
Pandey decided to rent a truck, hire a driver and disguise himself as an onion trader.
"We bought the onions from a vegetable market near Mumbai, and using the excuse of produce delivery, we crossed three states to finally reach home on Friday after traveling for three days."
India's lockdown rules allows vehicles delivering food items to cross state borders.
Pandey was sent to quarantine after his actions surfaced on Saturday, Arvind Kumar Singh, a senior police official in Prayagraj said.
"He has not shown any symptoms of coronavirus but he has been kept in a quarantine center as a precautionary measure for two weeks," the police official added.
More than 28 percent of the coronavirus cases in India have been reported in the state of Maharashtra - home to India's financial capital Mumbai, and remains the worst-affected state.