1.61 lakh stranded migrants sent back home; Mumbai Police say urgent need for more trains

The Mumbai Police, till Monday, sent 161,261 stranded people, most of them migrant labourers, back to their home states, while over 3 lakh are still on the waiting

The Mumbai Police, till Monday, sent 161,261 stranded people, most of them migrant labourers, back to their home states, while over 3 lakh are still on the waiting list. Pranaya Ashok, DCP (ops) and Mumbai Police spokesperson confirmed the updated figures.

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Mumbai Police fears the exercise of sending back stranded people may take more than a month if the number of trains is not increased significantly this month.

“Many have left on foot without registering with us as they see registered people getting frustrated waiting for several days; hence more trains are needed. Another issue is, we need over a thousand people in one group for one train, otherwise, we have to make them wait till we reach that figure,” said a senior police officer.

One of the deputy commissioners of Mumbai, who acts as a nodal officer, said, “The response from Uttar Pradesh has been good so far but West Bengal (WB) needs to provide more trains. The WB government has given just eight trains to Mumbai when more than double that amount is needed.”

“The task of sending the migrants back is tedious and a lot of logistical movement is involved. We have to arrange their travel right from their residence until the railway station while ensuring we maintain social distancing. Also, there is a waiting time of six hours. The documentation and identity of every migrant are checked because tomorrow if he/she turns positive, then the documentation will be crucial for contact tracing,” added the officer.

651 positive in Mumbai Police

The Mumbai Police has reported 651 cases so far. Among all police stations, JJ Marg (46 cases) and Sahar police station (26 cases) are the worst hit. This is followed by police stations with 10 to 20 cases – Agripada (11), Dharavi (19), Nagpada (11), Nirmal Nagar (14), Pydhonie (13), Shahu Nagar (11), Shivaji Nagar (11), Vakola (12), and Wadala (17).

Apart from police stations, there have been several cases in other branches of Mumbai Police as well. Local arms reported 134 cases, traffic (26), protection and security (20), motor vehicle department (16), quick response team (12), crime branch (11), and eight each in the special branch and economic offenses wing (EOW).

The police stations which have five to 10 cases are Byculla (6), Chembur (8), Cuffe Parade (6), Dadar (5), Deonar (5), Ghatkopar (6), Juhu (7), Kurla (8), LT Marg (10), MRA Marg (6), Mankhurd (5), Matunga (5), NM Joshi Marg (7), Powai (7), Sakinaka(6), Samtanagar (5), Santacruz (6), Sewri (5), VP Road (5), Wadala TT (5), Worli (5)and Yellow Gate (8).

The remaining police stations have less than five cases. Police stations with no cases of Covid-19 are Airport, Andheri, Charkop, Dahisar, Gorai, Jogeshwari, Kalachawki, Kanjurmarg, MHB Colony, Malabar Hill, Malvani, Nehru Nagar, Pant Nagar, RCF, Shivaji Park, Versova, Vikhroli, Sagri-2 and Cyber police station.

Cop arranges ambulance for senior citizen with Covid 19

A 28-year-old woman on Sunday who lives in an SRA building in Malad (East) was unable to find an ambulance for her 61-year-old father who had tested positive for Covid-19. She then rushed to a nakabandi at 11.30pm where PSI Swapnil Patil of Dindoshi police station called the control room and managed to get an ambulance to take the senior citizen to SevenHills Hospital where he is now being treated.

43 booked, 25 arrested on Sunday

Mumbai Police on Sunday lodged 31 FIRs against 43 people, arresting 25 of them for lockdown violations. Of the 31 FIRs, 19 are for gathering, six for unnecessary use of vehicles, four against shops, and two for not wearing masks. Ten FIRs each were registered in the central and west regions, alongside nine in the south region.

Man accused of domestic violence, booked for not wearing mask

Sakinaka police booked a 37-year-old man for not wearing a mask after he turned up at the police station as his wife had accused him of domestic violence. According to the police, on May 15 the accused’s wife complained against him at Zarimari beat chowky that he assaulted her when she asked him to pay attention to their one-year-old daughter. The accused was asked to come to police chowky but he turned up without a mask and was booked for the violation.

1, 273 in state police positive for Covid 19

A total of 1, 273 have tested positive for Covid-19 in Maharashtra Police, of which a maximum of 1,142 are constables while the remaining are officers. Of the total infected, 971 are being treated and 291 have recovered. A total of 11 personnel have died.