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Coronavirus outbreak: Crackdown begins, Punjab gym owner arrested, wedding organiser booked
The Ludhiana police lodged an FIR against a gym owner and arrested him for violating the state directive to shut down operations.
Crackdown on violators of instructions and advisories meant to fight the outbreak of coronavirus and its containment intensified on Friday with the arrest of a gymnasium owner in Punjab and lodging of a case against the owner of a marriage hall in the state who defied the restrictions imposed on the size of mass gatherings.
The development comes on a day when health ministry officials responded to queries, if action was being contemplated against people for violation of safety measures-- including those who were escaping from quarantine facilities and mixing with the non-infected population in a counter-productive move—to confirm that states had been asked to take all necessary steps according to the existing provisions to ensure covid-19 doesn’t progress from stage 2 to stage 3 of community transmission.
The Ludhiana police lodged an FIR against a gym owner and arrested him for violating the state directive to shut down operations. The police also arrested four others who were found exercising in the gym, said a police official from Tibba police station.
The accused has been identified as Chander Verma of Jain Colony of Noorwala road.
The official added that the accused were well aware of the ban on operating gymnasiums in the state but they did not take it seriously.
The state government had ordered the closure of public places, includng gyms, cinemas, malls, school, colleges and other educational institutes, conducive to contamination and possible hotspots for further expansion of the pandemic.
A case under section 188 (Disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of IPC has been registered against the accused before he was released on bail.
This was possibly the second such arrest after a trader was held in Madhya Pradesh on Thursday for allegedly giving false information leading to rumours and panic in the area over coronavirus.
In another case from Punjab reported on Friday, Satish Garg and his son Vishav Garg were booked for allowing mass gatherings at their marriage venue despite a ban by the administration by the Bathinda police
According to Bathinda SSP Nanak Singh, owners of the venue on Malout road were asked to convey to families to not allow mass gathering but they ignored it and allowed more than the permissible number of guests. Section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) and 336 (act endangering life or personal safety of others) of IPC has been slapped against both accused.
In related developments in West Bengal, two women in Kolkata, who disregarded the advice of home quarantine after returning from abroad, were taken to hospital by the police, PTI said quoting state officials
And another woman, who recently returned from Spain to her hometown Siliguri, disregarded doctor’s advice of home quarantine and went out to walk her dog triggering panic in the area, claimed another PTI report attributing the information to a local councillor.
