Police officials across the country are working 24/7 to keep an eye on 1.3 billion Indians to make sure they stay indoors to protect themselves from the contagious coronavirus, officially dubbed COVID-19.
Since the lockdown was announced on 24 March, police personnel have been keeping a close eye on violators. Here are some of the most recent viral videos of cops using creative ways to punish lockdown violators in India.
An elderly man in India's Uttar Pradesh was made to sit and walk as a punishment for stepping out of his house amid the strict lockdown in Kanpur.
In a video of the incident, the man can be seen carrying flowers for paying obeisance in a temple. He is confronted by the cops who spill the water being carried as offering to the deity. The man is then punished and made to sit and walk for violating lockdown norms.
In another video, Karnataka police were seen mercilessly baton charging lockdown violators in Kalaburagi. The city was part of a “containment zone” after cases were reported there. However, officials stated that they are leaving no stone unturned to punish people stepping out for fun.
Another innovative punishment idea was recorded from Pune in the state of Maharashtra, where the cops made a boy eat a dozen bananas because he had stepped out. Maharashtra is the nation's hardest hit state, where around 10,000 COVID-19 cases have been reported so far.
The Maharashtra police also made a few violators perform yoga on the road. In a video going viral on social media, the cops can be seen instructing the law breakers to perform exercises.
According to state police, several hundred violators are booked on a daily basis, yet people continue to leave their homes.
“We have made many requests to the public to stay indoors, which is for their own safety not ours. We are outside on the roads working for the safety of the country at this pandemic", said a senior police officer from the Uttar Pradesh police.
According to the Indian Health Ministry, there are 33,050 positive cases of COVID-19 across the country and 1,074 people have died due to the virus.