More than 250 people were arrested on Monday for loitering on the streets in West Bengal’s Kolkata as police raided localities to strictly implement the five-day lockdown announced by the Mamata Banerjee government to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
The lockdown started from 5pm on Monday and will continue till March 27 midnight. The gathering of more than seven persons has been prohibited.
Police said the 255 people booked under section 188 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) that pertains to disobedience to order duly promulgated by a public servant.
“255 persons arrested violating Restriction Order & prosecuted u/s 188 IPC. I appeal to all citizens to #StayHome and cooperate with the administration. @KolkataPolice will continue the drive against violators,” Kolkata Police commissioner Anuj Sharma tweeted around midnight on Monday.
Chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday instructed the police to ensure strict implementation of the lockdown.
Several people were arrested in other towns in West Bengal as well.
The state recorded it’s first death of a Covid-19 patient on Monday afternoon even as six others are being treated for the disease.
The death has sparked fear of community spread of the infection as the dead man had no history of travelling outside the country or meeting anyone who came from abroad recently.
He had travelled in a train from Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh to Kolkata earlier this month, during which he is suspected to have contracted the disease.
The government has clamped severe restriction across the state and sealed its border. Under the Critical Safety Regulation ordered on Sunday, the government said that no public transport services, including operations of taxis and auto-rickshaws, will be permitted.
Taxis will be allowed only outside hospitals, railway stations and bus terminals. However, railway stations have completely shut from Monday night.
“All shops, commercial establishments, offices and factories, workshops, godowns, etc shall close their operations,” the lockdown notification of Sunday said while exempting grocery shops, markets selling vegetables, fish, and meat.
Hundreds of people were booked for violating the norms on the first day of lockdowns imposed across the country to check the spread of coronavirus and issued warnings of arrest with jail terms up to a year if the violations continued.
The number of states and Union territories that imposed the lockdowns increased to 28 on Monday with Punjab and Maharashtra, the worst-hit state, imposing curfews.
