Amid a few incidents of excesses against citizens in Punjab in the enforcement of curfew , Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Thursday directed the Punjab Police to be more sensitive in dealing with violations.
Urging police personnel to exercise maximum restraint in the difficult situation, the Chief Minister asked them to find more compassionate ways of handling curfew violations, especially in cases of individuals found moving out for essentials.
“Use of corporal means to punish violators could not be allowed,” Captain Amarinder said, directing Director General of Police (DGP) Dinkar Gupta to take all possible steps to sensitise police personnel and warn them against taking the law into their hands in dealing with cases of curfew violation.
Captain Amarinder also took note of reports of a recorded telephonic message purported to have been released by Gurpatwant Singh Pannu of Sikhs For Justice (SFJ), and said any attempt by him or anyone else to provoke the youth of Punjab to violate the curfew would not be tolerated.
Meanwhile, DGP Gupta said that while by and large, police personnel were seen to be caring and gentle, there had been a few cases of some of them using force against those found violating the restrictions. Mr. Gupta said he had made it clear that there should be zero tolerance to physical beatings etc.
The police on Thursday registered 170 FIRs and arrested 262 for curfew and home quarantine violations. Out of the 170 FIRs, four were registered for violation of home quarantine guidelines.