16 vehicles impounded, 21 held for violating night curfew in Chandigarh
The cases were registered between 10pm on Friday and 5am on Saturday. All those arrested were later released on bail.
In compliance with the UT administrator’s directions to impose a night curfew in the city, 16 vehicles were impounded and 21 persons were arrested, the police said on Saturday.
The cases were registered between 10pm on Friday and 5am on Saturday. All those arrested were later released on bail.
The action came after UT administrator VP Singh Badnore took to Twitter and issued the directions for a night curfew in wake of the rising number of Covid-19 positive cases. Badnore directed the police to impound all vehicles moving during curfew hours except those on essential duty. Chandigarh DGP, Sanjay Baniwal, had assured strict compliance.
More than 100 vehicles were turned back from the city borders after 10pm to prevent unauthorised entry in the night. Apart from impounding vehicles, police also imposed a fine of ₹1.44 lakh on 287 persons for moving without masks and violating other restrictions during a special drive carried out on Friday between 6pm to 10pm.
EXCUSES GALORE
From after dinner strolls to purchasing medicines or getting late at work, city residents are giving all kinds of excuses after being caught by the police. “The most common excuse is going out to buy medicines. But most of them are unable to show prescriptions or even the medicines they purchased,” said a police personnel on duty at IT park.
The maximum number of cases (5) were registered in Sector 26 and Industrial Area. In Sector 26, most cases were registered for violating the night curfew at Bapu Dham Colony.
“‘I was out for a stroll after dinner’ is the most common excuse which the residents of Bapu Dham give on being caught. Some say they get late coming back from work in Mohali,” added a police official posted at Bapu Dham Colony. If caught without a mask, the residents will blame their forgetfulness even though wearing a mask while stepping out of the house is mandatory.
From June 25 to July 7, the police issued 2,075 challans and collected a fine of ₹10.56 lakh from people for various violations.
