Man lodges FIR against father for violating lockdown

On the man’s complaint, police booked his 59-year-old father for violating prohibitory orders.

A 30-year-old man on Wednesday lodged a police case against his father for allegedly not following the lockdown and repeatedly stepping out of their house in south Delhi’s Rajokri near Vasant Kunj.

Delhi Police personnel stand guard next to police barricades. (Sanjeev Verma/HT PHOTO)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had initiated a 21 day countrywide lockdown on March 23 to check the spread of Covid-19. So far, 386 people have tested positive for the virus in Delhi, with six deaths.

On the man’s complaint, police booked his 59-year-old father for violating prohibitory orders.

In his complaint dated April 1, the man — who works in an automobile company — alleged his father had been violating the lockdown often, police said.

“On April 1, when the son called the police, a team was sent to his house. The police team found the son and his father standing outside the house, on the road. When the man asked his father to get inside, he refused. The man later also told us his father often stepped out of the house and roamed around in the neighbourhood despite the lockdown,” said a police officer.

Deputy commissioner of police (southwest) Devender Arya said as prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC is in place, a case under IPC section 188 was registered against the father on a complaint by his son at the Vasant Kunj (south) police station.

A police officer said the offences under section 188, in a pandemic-like situation, may lead to six months of imprisonment or Rs 1,000 fine or both.

The man who filed the FIR could not be reached for a comment.

Since the lockdown was announced in Delhi, the police are regularly patrolling roads and bylanes of residential colonies, asking people to stay indoors and move out only in case of emergency.

Regular announcements are also being made by the police to educate people about the risk of exposure to Covid-19 and on measures to avoid it. Violators are being prosecuted.

On Thursday, police registered at least 174 cases till 5 pm against people caught violating prohibitory orders. A total of 3,663 people were detained and 443 vehicles impounded. On Wednesday, the police booked 249 people for violations, detained 4,053 people and impounded 515 vehicles.

The action is also being taken against those who are caught violating the mandatory home quarantine. Delhi police spokesperson, Anil Mittal, said that a total of 33 FIRs were lodged till Friday against such people, of which 21 were in Dwarka. “They were all found deviating from home quarantine rules. The violators are being booked under relevant sections of Indian Penal Code and section 3 of Epidemic Diseases Act. Apart from Dwarka, eight cases were reported from south Delhi, two from the north and one each from the northwest and central Delhi.

The Delhi police have set up a 24x7 helpline, 23469526, to assist people to resolve issues related to the lockdown.