Bengaluru, Only 19 passengers, who refused to undergo the 14-day institutional quarantine in the city after arriving in a special train earlier in the day, left for New Delhi in the return train, an official said on Thursday.

"An extra AC 3-tier coach has been attached to the special train (#02691) to take the 19 passengers who refused the mandatory 14-day quarantining on returning to the city earlier in the day," Bengaluru railway divisonal manager A.K. Verma told IANS after the train chugged out of the city station at 8:30 pm.

Though initially about 160 returnees wanted to go back to Delhi by the night train, about 141 withdrew later and reconciled to undergo the mandatory quarantine, as about 500 returnees did during the day, albeit very reluctantly.

"Sending the passengers unwilling for quarantining in the return train was decided by the Karnataka government in consultation with the Railway Police Force (RPF), as they cannot go home for the next 14 days and to avoid a law and order problem in the station, as many of them resorted to protests in the station since they arrived earlier in the day," said Verma.

Though 920 passengers boarded the superfast train in New Delhi on Tuesday night, 680 arrived in this tech city earlier in the day, as 240 of them alighted at 5-6 stations en route to their destination.

About 200 of the returnees protested against institutional quarantining in hotels and hostels and insisted on going home for same to ensure they are free from coronavirus.

When the state health and civic officials told the returnees, including women, children and senior citizens that they have to be in compulsory institutional quarantine for 14 days before going home in the city or other places in the southern state, finally 660 of them opted for quarantining as they had no other place to go.