The police have registered 615 cases for violation of lockdown rules and taken action against 1,167 people over the past 11 days. The police have booked 71 people, issued notices to 105, arrested 991 and later released them on bail.
Ever since the start of the lockdown, the Mumbai Police have been enforcing Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code, which empowers law enforcement agencies to act against those found disobeying an order promulgated by a public servant. The Disaster Management Act and the Essential Commodities Act are being invoked wherever necessary. Police officials said the highest number of cases were registered against violators of curfew orders, which forbid assembly of more than four persons in a single space at any given time. The orders have been issued to ensure minimum spread of the novel coronavirus.
A Mumbai Police officer said, “From March 20 to 31, we have registered 267 cases of unlawful assembly against people all over the city. The highest number of such instances were found in central Mumbai, with 103 cases being registered in this time period; northern Mumbai came second with 81 cases.”
The police have also taken action against hotels, commercial establishments, pan-beedi shops, hawkers and vendors; people transporting a large number of people out of the city in vehicles like trucks or tempos; and those driving around in private vehicles in violation of lockdown rules.
Officers said given concerns over spread of the virus, bringing every accused to the police station is not an option and they have had to prioritise. “Over the last 11 days, we have booked 1,167 people, of which 71 have been only booked, 105 have been issued notices and 991 have been arrested and later released on bail,” the officer said.
