Delhi Police go all out to crack down on Covid violators

From booking owners of pubs, restaurants and banquets to recommending the cancellation of licences, the Delhi Police have begun conducting special drives against those violating Covid-19 safety protocols amid a surge in infections in the national capital

From booking owners of pubs, restaurants and banquets to recommending the cancellation of licences, the Delhi Police have begun conducting special drives against those violating Covid-19 safety protocols amid a surge in infections in the national capital.

Delhi Police personnel issuing a fine to a motorist for not wearing a face mask and violating Covid-19 norms in Pandav Nagar, New Delhi. (Raj K Raj/HT PHOTO)

The Delhi Police said at least 17 FIRs were registered against owners of restaurants, pubs and banquets across Delhi on Saturday evening and four were arrested.

As many as 173 challans were slapped on people at restaurants, pubs and banquets on the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday. While 118 challans were issued to the owners, staff and visitors at various restaurants in Delhi, 48 challans were issued to violators at banquet halls and seven such challans at night clubs, said Delhi Police.

Comparatively, a month ago on March 4, the Delhi Police issued just 65 challans for Covid-19 protocol violations across all places in Delhi.

Chinmoy Biswal, spokesperson for Delhi Police, said the action against violators of Covid-19 protocols is being stepped up in view of the surge in Covid-19 cases. The city reported over 3,500 new infections on Friday and Saturday each.

“We are particularly checking restaurants and bars on weekend evenings because there is usually more crowd that time. The crackdown on violators will continue throughout the week,” said Biswal.

In some districts, the police went on to recommend cancelling the licences of some restaurants. In south-east and north districts, the police wrote to the respective municipal corporations, the licence department and the excise department to cancel the licences issued to four businesses. “We have cited Covid-19 violations as the reason for cancelling the licences of two night clubs,” said RP Meena, deputy commissioner of police (DCP) for south-east.

Anto Alphonse, DCP (north), said while his district has fewer restaurants and bars, two restaurants in the Civil Lines were most likely to lose their licences. ”We have fewer restaurants and large markets with high footfall. In the last 10 days, we have issued 1,500 challans,” said Alphonse.

In south-east district, the police registered 10 FIRs against owners of some clubs, bars, cafes and restaurants -- including some popular ones in places like Nehru Place and Amar Colony-- on Saturday night. In west Delhi too, the police booked owners of five restaurants and bars between Saturday evening and midnight.

In New Delhi district, the police carried out special drives both on Friday and Saturday in establishments where high footfall was expected. Owners of four restaurants were booked for not ensuring compliance to Covid-19 safety norms. The police also visited Khan Market and a five-star hotel in New Delhi district to prosecute 12 visitors for not wearing face masks.

“Some of these restaurants were not ensuring social distancing among customers in their premises. Some didn’t even have sanitizers. In another place, the staff was serving food without masks or hand gloves. We will be intensifying our action in the coming days,” said Vikas Kumar, additional DCP, New Delhi.