Police make violators squat on roads

Kanpur: Two days ago around 8 am, a girl and a boy were found moving towards Gaushala crossing in a scooter. When they were stopped by the

police

where they were going to which the girl replied that they were going to witness lockdown.

A woman and a male constable told the girl and the boy to come down from the scooter and sit in ‘murgha position’. After 10-15 minutes, the cops again asked whether they had witnessed the lockdown. Both of them with folded hands said that they had seen it and will never come out during lockdown.

Police often catch violators of lockdown in the city and punish them either by making them ‘murgha’ or make them squat on road. People come across such kinds of news almost daily through TV and newspapers but the Kanpurites are not learning any lesson.

Since the imposition of lockdown in the city, more than 31,000 people have reportedly flouted the lockdown rules and punished. According to the figure released by the police, around 4000 people have so far been booked under section 144 CrPC, more than 27,000 prosecuted under the Motor Vehicles Act, 900 vehicles seized for not showing papers and Rs 5.32 lakh realized as fine. SP (East) Raj Kumar Agarwal said that despite strict actions being taken, the residents were not complying with the lockdown rules. Now, police are going to initiate legal proceedings against lockdown violators, he said.

The SP said the police have registered around 115 cases against those found roaming on roads without wearing masks, or loitering in hotspot or red zone areas and not maintaining social distancing. “Police have registered 28 cases against 37 shopkeepers found selling essential commodities at premium prices, and around one dozen cases registered under the Essential Commodities Act against fair price shop licensees and kotedars”, he added.