As many as 277 Coimbatore City Police personnel contracted COVID-19 in the past year and all of them recovered.
In a release on Thursday, the police said that 8,030 cases were registered in the city police limits for violation of the prohibitory orders under Section 144 during the COVID-19 lockdown. As many as 6,764 vehicles were seized and a fine of nearly ₹13.79 crore was levied during this period. The police also conducted various COVID-19 awareness events and distributed 3.96 lakh food packets during the lockdown.
Meanwhile, 349 criminal cases such as murder for gain, robbery and house-breaking were registered, which was lower than 2019 as 669 crime cases were registered in the previous year. There was also a 20% increase in solving of crimes this year as 283 out of the 349 cases were solved and stolen properties worth ₹2.15 crore were recovered, the release said.
The city police registered 27 murder cases, two rape cases and 46 cases under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act in the past year. All the accused in these cases were arrested and remanded in judicial custody. More POCSO cases were registered this year due to increase in awareness, the police said in the release.
The special court for POCSO cases delivered verdicts for four cases registered in the city police limits in the past year. The court awarded life imprisonment in two cases and five years of rigorous imprisonment in the other two cases for the accused.
Out of the 253 missing persons who were traced by the city police this year, 122 were women, 79 were minors (22 boys and 57 girls) and 52 were men. Coimbatore City Police won the SKOCH award in 2020 for its work during the pandemic, according to the release.
