Gurugram police crack down on people not wearing masks in public

Gurugram police on Monday launched a massive drive to penalise people for not wearing masks in public places in the city. Each offender nabbed without a mask was

Gurugram police on Monday launched a massive drive to penalise people for not wearing masks in public places in the city. Each offender nabbed without a mask was penalised and given five masks by the police personnel, officers said.

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Police commissioner Muhammad Akil said that despite regular patrolling and public announcements, many people were not wearing masks due to which they were forced to crackdown and start a drive to penalize them. Every offender was given masks to keep in their vehicles, office and home so that they never venture out without one. “Earlier also we were distributing masks to the public. People, often after getting caught, claim that they forgot their masks at their home or in office,” Akil said. The offence is punishable with a fine up to Rs 500.

A senior police officer said that at least 1,200 people were penalised on the spot on Monday. The aim of the drive, he added. was to ensure that everyone follows protocols to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

The order stated that officials need to collect Rs 500 fine on the spot from the violator and hand him/her a set of five masks . They are also to be sensitised them about the importance of wearing masks.

According to the police, since May 1 this year, at least 10,427 people have been booked under sections 2, 3 and 4 of the Epidemic Act, 1897 and the Haryana Epidemic Disease, Covid-19 Regulations, 2020 for not wearing masks while stepping out of their residences.

The civic agencies had also started taking action against the offender under Section 188 of Indian Penal Code for disobedience to order duly promulgated by a public servant.

Municipal Corporation Gurugram (MCG) had issued nearly 500 challans between May 15 and June 20, and collected a sum of Rs 2.50 lakh from people not wearing masks in public places.

“We are fining people who are not wearing a face masks in public places. We want to ensure that this acts as a deterrent and people are more careful amid the coronavirus outbreak. We have also launched a seven-day drive starting Monday to fine people on a larger scale,” said Akil.

On June 22, at least 85 new cases of Covid-19 were reported, taking the total tally of cases in the district to 4512. Gurugram has so far witnessed 66 fatalities from the disease.

The district administration made wearing of masks mandatory on April 10. However,crackdowns were only launched after May 6, when a direction was issued to all municipal corporations across the state by the directorate of Urban Local Bodies (ULB), to start fining violators.

The municipal corporations can fine a person Rs 500 if he or she doesn’t wear a mask under Section 381 of the Haryana Municipal Corporation Act, 1994. Officials said that action under Section 188 of IPC, which invites a penalty of Rs 200 and/or imprisonment of up to one month, could also be initiated, if the need arises.