Kanika Kapoor Narrates her Suffering, Quashes Allegations: ‘It Feels I’m in Jail, I feel Miserable’ after Testing Coronavirus Positive

Bollywood singer Kanika Kapoor took the whole nation by storm after she became the first Bollywood celebrity to get infected with Coronavirus. She was among the four people who tested positive for it in Uttar Pradesh.

She flew down to Lucknow a few days ago and had thrown a lavish party for her friends and family. A large number of bureaucrats, politicians and socialites had attended the party. She also attended Akbar Ahmad’s party where many political personalities were present.

Kanika has been receiving a lot of flak for allegedly hiding her travel details and risking people’s lives by attending parties. In an interview with Times of India, the ‘Baby Doll’ singer quashed all such allegations and also narrates her ordeal after being tested positive for coronavirus.

Clarifying the allegations against her, Kanika asserts:  "I want to tell people that I'm not the irresponsible person I'm being made to look like. There are these silly rumours that I hid in the washroom to skip screening. Tell me, how is it possible for a person to skip screening at immigration while coming on an international flight? I was properly screened at the Mumbai airport and I stayed in the city for a day. But since everything was closed and no work was happening (because of the industry lockdown due to the coronavirus spread), my parents suggested I come home. So I reached Lucknow on March 11 by the morning flight. And one can check, that at that time there was no advisory issued by the government on anyone travelling from abroad to be under self-quarantine. So how can one expect me to do it, especially when I had been screened and had no health issues till I left Mumbai? In fact, I developed the symptoms only four days ago.”

The singer confirms that she attended a small gathering but rubbishes the reports of hosting a party. "I came to Lucknow and I met people. In fact, I've told the health department I'll give them a list of people I've been in contact with. Apart from those I met in the last few days, I'm concerned about my nani, who's 98, and lives in Kanpur. She really wanted to meet me, so I went to Kanpur for a day to be with her."

She adds: "I never hosted a party. I attended a small birthday bash, which Vasundhara Raje ji has also tweeted about. There were several politicians there, including Dushyant Singh, but it wasn't as big a gathering as it is being made out. It was a small one where I was a guest, not the hostess. For this, too, I've given the health officials names of all those who were at the party."

Kanika also reveals how she pestered the authorities to take her samples while they were taking things lightly.  “I called my friend, who heads a local hospital to, get my blood samples checked for the virus. He suggested that I approach the state health authorities for it. When I called the helpline numbers, after hearing out my symptoms, they said it doesn't seem like the coronavirus, and it might just be the seasonal flu. But I kept insisting, and it was only after I pestered them that the CMO sent people to take my samples. I was the one who pestered the authorities, who I felt were taking things lightly. It took them three days to send someone to collect my sample and test it. From Monday till then, I had confined myself to my room. The moment I felt sick, I called up the authorities. So tell me, who’s been lax?" she questions.

Currently, Kanika is at the Isolation Corona Ward at the Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGIMS), Lucknow. She opens up about the ill-treatment given to her, as she shares: "I've been here since 11 am and all I've been given is a small bottle of water to drink. I've been asking these people to give me something to eat but I've only been given two small bananas and an orange that had flies on it. I am so hungry, I haven't even taken the medicine that I was supposed to till now. I have a fever, I've informed them, but no one has attended to me. The food I brought with me has been taken away. I can't even eat anything that's given to me as I am allergic to some foods. I am hungry, thirsty and I feel miserable here."

Revealing more details about the treatment she’s given at the hospital, Kanika says she is being threatened: "When I asked the doctor attending to me to have the room cleaned, he said to me that this was not a five-star hotel where I should expect that kind of treatment. He said that the authorities are going to file an FIR against me for withholding information and not disclosing my illness. These are the kind of threats being given to me."

Kanika states that she has been given a paper blanket to keep warm. "It has mosquitoes and is full of dust. I am being ill-treated here and it feels like I’m in jail. They are behaving as if I am a criminal for no fault of mine” concludes Kanika.

Meanwhile, a FIR has been filed against Kanika Kapoor for negligence. "An FIR was lodged at the Sarojini Nagar police station under IPC Sections 269 (negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life),270 (malignant act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) and 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant)," Police Commissioner Surjit Pandey told PTI.