2.3mn people fined in a year for violating Covid protocol: Data

JAIPUR: More than 2.3 million people have been challaned for the violation of Covid-19 norms in the state in a year, according to the police department data.

Additional DG (Crime) Dr Ravi Prakash Meharda said that a total of 2,328,167 violators have been issued challan under the Rajasthan Epidemics Ordinance in the past year. 1,776,751 people were booked for the violation of social distancing, 65,491 for spitting in public and 4,63,708 were challaned for not wearing mask.

Meharda said additional police personnel were drawn from different departments of Rajasthan police and sent on

Covid-19 duty. The staff of the crime branch, which is generally kept away from normal policing, was also enlisted into Covid-19 related operations. “The enforcement of Covid-19 norms are very important, therefore, we deployed as many personnel as we could,” he said.

The Rajasthan police seized 261,586 vehicles under the Motor Vehicle (MV) Act, while enforcing lockdown-related curbs across the state. 21,359 shopkeepers were issued challans for selling to someone who was not wearing a mask.

The Rajasthan police said many people were sent to institutional quarantine after they were found to be moving across the city without any reason.

ADGP Meharda said that all local police stations were also directed to step up the enforcement on the streets to ensure that containment and curbs ordered by the government are not violated. The police in Jaipur, to have set up up many check-points at all major routes of the city, have been keeping a check on people roaming around the city for no reason.

An official said that strict measured had to be introduced because cases at one time were spiraling out of control.