Covid care centres for cops to come up at Santacruz, Marol

With help from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, Mumbai Police is setting up two Covid-19 care centres specially dedicated to police personnel. This is aimed at reducing the pressure on civic-run Covid-treatment centres.

A 300-bed Covid care centre is being set up in police housing quarters in Santacruz and another Covid care centre, with a capacity of 250 beds, will be set up at Marol. This was confirmed by Naval Bajaj, joint commissioner of police (administration) and nodal officer designated by the state for the healthcare of Mumbai Police. The Covid-care centres in Santacruz and Marol are for asymptomatic carriers and those with mild cases of Covid-19. Family members of police personnel would also be eligible to stay at these centres.

Deputy commissioner of police (operations) and spokesperson for Mumbai Police Pranay Ashoka said on Friday that 309 police personnel are infected with Covid-19, which is 59 more than the number that commissioner of police Param Bir Singh had announced on Thursday. Across Maharashtra, between March 22 and May 8, 618 (547 constables, 71 officers) police personnel have tested positive. Five constables have succumbed to the disease.

Cops test positive

On Friday, eight constables and four officers from Nirmal Nagar police station in Khar (East) tested positive for Covid-19 and nine others were been quarantined. A constable, assigned to the joint commissioner of police (economic offences wing), also tested positive and was admitted to Seven Hills Hospital.

Lockdown violations

On Thursday, 52 first information reports (FIRs) were registered in the city against 105 people for lockdown violations and 73 were arrested. Twenty FIRs are from the central Mumbai and 18 in the western region. Seventeen cases were for gathering in public and 17 for not wearing masks. Fourteen cases of illegal use of vehicles were registered. Bandra police also booked seven autorickshaw drivers and two taxi drivers.

Four cases against operating shops selling non-essential services were filed on Thursday. On May 6, two wine shop owners in Vile Parle and Juhu were booked for operating their shops in violation of the order issued by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation to shut down shops selling liquor.

Between March 22 and May 8, Maharashtra Police has registered 98,774 FIRs against over 1 lakh people for lockdown violations across the state and 19,082 have been arrested. In the same period, 54,148 vehicles have been seized and fines amounting to Rs 3.66 crore have been collected.

10,000 stranded people get permits; 1 lakh on ‘waiting list’

Mumbai Police has given permits to 10,000 people — mostly migrant labourers, tourists, pilgrims and students — allowing them to return to their home states. Another 1 lakh people have been given permits and are on the “waiting list” till trains and buses are arranged by the state government.

Gutkha worth Rs 53.48 lakh seized

On Friday, Mumbai Police arrested three men for illegally transporting gutkha and tobacco products — which are not listed under essential products — in Govandi. The arrested accused are Gaus Zahur Khan, 38; Shaizad Kutchi, 31; and SN Khan, 27. All three are from Shivaji Nagar, Govandi. The total value of the seized material and tempo is Rs 53.48 lakh.

Newborn girl dumped in nullah, parents booked

Kurar police filed a case against the unknown parents of a baby girl whose body was found in a nullah in Shivaji Nagar, Malad (East) on Friday morning. The police were alerted by a citizen who tweeted about the body to Mumbai Police. A case has been filed under section 318 (concealment of birth by secret disposal of dead body) of the Indian Penal Code.

Dairy owner booked for flouting lockdown rules

Bhoiwada police booked a dairy owner for violating lockdown rules by not maintaining social distancing among his customers. On Thursday morning, the police saw a crowd outside the dairy in Dadar (East) and booked owner Manish Tiwari under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code.

(With inputs from Jayprakash S Naidu, Manish K Pathak, Faisal Tandel and Suraj Ojha)