Police have started legal proceedings against 17 foreigners who were taken to isolation centres from Hindpiri in the state capital on March 30.

One of the 17, a Malaysian woman, was the first person to test positive for the novel coronavirus in Jharkhand.

Kotwali deputy superintendent of police Ajit Kumar Vimal said the FIR against the foreigners was registered on April 7.

“They had come on tourist visas but were working as religious missionaries in the country. Apart from this, their negligent behaviour caused the spread of corona in the city,” Vimal said. “There is provision of five years of imprisonment in case of misuse of visa.”

Asked why the FIR was registered on April 7 when the 17 were found on March 30, Vimal said: “The FIR was registered after proper verification of visa and allied documents of the foreigners.”

A police official who requested anonymity said the FIR was at Hindpiri police station under sections of the IPC, the Foreigners Act, 1946, and the Disaster Management Act.

“Section 188 (disobedience of order promulgated by public servant), 269 (negligent act likely to spread infection), 270 (malignant act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) and 271 (knowingly disobeying any rule made and promulgated by the government for putting any vessel into a state of quarantine) of the IPC, besides sections of the Foreigners Act and Disaster Management Act, have been invoked to book them,” the official said.

“The foreigners are from UK, West Indies, Holland, Trinidad, Zambia and Malaysia,” he added. “They are at present either in isolation at RIMS or in state quarantine centres.”