India’s second wave is deadly and frightening. It’s been enough to see countries like the US and Australia close borders to the country.

But now a new report suggests scientists warned Indian officials in March about a new and more contagious variant of COVID19 sweeping the country.

Reuters reports five scientists have come forward – all were part of the panel set up by the government.

Despite the warning, four of the scientists said the federal government did not seek to impose major restrictions to stop the spread of the virus.

Tens of thousands of farmers are camping on the edge of New Delhi protesting Modi’s agricultural policy changes.

The world’s second-most populous country is now struggling to contain a second wave of infections much more severe than its first last year.

Scientists say the spread is being accelerated by the new variant and another variant first detected in Britain. India reported 386,452 new cases on Friday.

The spike in infections is a major crisis for the Indian government.

The next general election is due in 2024. Voting in the most recent local elections was largely completed before the scale of the new surge in infections became apparent.

INSACOG was set up as a forum of scientific advisers by the government in late December specifically to detect genomic variants of the coronavirus that might threaten public health.

INSACOG researchers first detected B.1.617, which is now known as the Indian variant of the virus, as early as February.

The group of scientists claim INSACOG shared its findings with the health ministry’s National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) before March 10, warning that infections could quickly increase in parts of the country.