A dead boy, a man looking for quiet

NEW DELHI: Two policemen signalled an approaching motorcycle to halt at a check post in Greater Kailash II on Thursday afternoon. There were three persons on it: Two weeping men with a dead child - about five years old - between them.

The motorcycle slowed, one of the policemen only slightly waved his hand to signal them to proceed. No words were exchanged.

“Only people who actually need to step out are crossing this checkpoint today. The situation is very different from Wednesday (Day 1 of the countrywide lockdown) when we had to force many motorists to turn around,” said assistant sub-inspector Sukh Pal, recovering from what he had just witnessed.

Several kilometres away, on Vikas Marg in East Delhi, many motorists were yet to abide by the lockdown rules. Among them was a private security guard who had left his west Delhi home in a huff when his wife and mother began quarrelling with each other on Tuesday. On Thursday, he not only wanted to return home but was also obliged to hand over the office keys to his employer. Hindustan Times on Thursday visited the two check posts to see who were the motorists still out on the roads and what their compulsions were.

GREATER KAILASH

At GK-II, most motorists were those seeking medical aid or returning from a hospital visit. Or at least that is what they claimed when halted by the police.

They readily brought out prescriptions, doctor’s appointments or produced packet full of medicines. One van had an elderly woman on a ventilator. The police didn’t ask too many questions. They kept their distance, interacting with the motorists through the passenger window.

The motorists included many doctors, some of who didn’t even bother to roll down their car windows. The relevant stickers on their cars’ windshield were enough. Health professionals providing home services were let through, their words taken at face value. “Over the last three days, we have come to recognise the faces of some of them,” said Jagdeep Singh, a traffic police officer posted there.

A man-daughter duo in a car was asked to name the hospital they were returning from. Both mentioned Moolchand Hospital in unison. The police believed them.

No questions were asked of food delivery agents, municipality vehicle occupants, ambulance drivers or motorcyclists with elderly people riding pillion.

Among the motorists passing through without valid IDS were those who wanted to refuel their cars and one who wanted to get tyre pressure checked.

There were also many who simply said they were out to buy essentials. Some of them narrated their home addresses to sound convincing. “There was something I couldn’t find in my market, so I am driving to the M-block market,” one of them told the police.

VIKAS MARG

On Vikas Marg in Shakarpur, motorists argued with the policemen who were relatively more reluctant to let people pass through without question. Among them was a man who claimed that he was out to pick his sister outside RML Hospital. The police told him to tell her to catch a bus.

Others who were stopped included men who said they felt “lonely”, some who were out to pick relatives or headed to stay at a friend’s home.

Then there were those who needed urgent medical care. One of them was a young girl from UP’S Vaishali who was referred to Chacha Nehru Hospital. “We decided to head out on our own when an ambulance failed to arrive for over two hours,” said her father. On Thursday, the police booked 5,053 persons for violating the lockdown orders and impounded 930 vehicles.