When Shubham Kumar was caught breaching the lockdown while in his car with his family, he pleaded with police not to arrest him as he claimed to not have eaten for the last 3 days. But eventually it came to be known that he had gone out to visit a relative and this story was fabricated.
But he's not alone. Many violators have come up with a variety of excuses to go out despite orders not to do so. A man in Ghaziabad pretended to be a milkman and carried empty cans while on a joyride. On being caught, his reason to be out was because he was providing milk to needy kids.?
Police said in most cases the violators initially got aggressive when asked for proof to back their claims.?
¡°We had people trying to pose as government officials or even repairmen on their way to fix broken power cables. During random checks, none of them were found carrying any identity proof,¡± said an officer as per a TOI report.
The nation is on a 21-day lockdown to combat the spread of coronavirus. Over 20,000 are dead all over the world and more than 400,000 affected. In India the tally of confirmed cases is above 500.?
A majority of the violators were small businessmen who were on the way to their shops.?
¡°When questioned or booked, the violators revealed that they owned small businesses and were on their way to their office or shop to carry out commerce. We are not against their motive, but the rule of law is paramount,¡± said another police officer.?
Last week, police visited an airline official¡¯s house in west Delhi when his neighbours complained that he had violated home quarantine norms by visiting a relative in another apartment nearby. He and his family members were booked for the violation. They claimed that they were visiting the relative due to a medical emergency, which was found to be false upon verification.?
Most violators were caught in east and northeast Delhi.?
¡°There was a man from Ghaziabad who had managed to enter the city with someone¡¯s help. When he was caught returning, he first tried to intimidate us claiming to be a police officer. However, when we asked for his ID proof, he started pleading with us to let him go,¡± said a police officer.?
While the temptation to go out is there, best to stay home when it is for one's own good. And if it is an emergency, only then venture out and there's no need to lie, it makes the police's job that much harder.?