Police put a check on arrests after accused test Covid +ve

htraj@htlive.com

JAIPUR:

The Jaipur police have put a check on arrests for nonheinous offences after seven accused in the past week tested Covid positive in custody.

Senior officials said since the accused suffering from the coronavirus disease could not be sent to jail directly for the judicial custody, arranging a temporary accommodation before they recover has become an arduous task for local police stations.

“Last week Sodala, Bajaj Nagar, and Adarsh Nagar police stations had arrested seven people accused of crimes ranging from rape to illegal sale of remdesivir. Many of them tested Covid positive; this led to a major problem for us,” said additional commissioner of police (crime), Ajay Pal Lamba.

All the seven accused are currently undergoing treatment at a city-based hospital, but due to scarcity of oxygen beds, making the same arrangement for other accused would be an uphill task.

“The arrest in all heinous offences like robbery, rape, and murder will continue. But in cases like cheating, petty crimes, and local brawls, arrests can be delayed for some time,” Lamba said.

The Jaipur police are also reeling from the second spell of the pandemic with 30 per cent of the station house officers A traffic police official fines an auto passenger for not wearing mask near Hawa Mahal in Jaipur on Monday, as ‘Pandemic Red Alert Public Discipline Fortnight’ to curb Covid kicks in.

HT PHOTO protocol, which stipulates sanitisation of police stations after every one hour.

An eight-hour shift has been introduced in all police stations so that staff could maintain social distancing.

“All cops have been given N-95 masks which are mandatory to be worn at all times. We have also asked our staff posted at checkpoints to maintain a distance of at least six feet,” Lamba said. (SHOS), one additional commissioner, and the commissioner contracting the virus.

“At least one family member of four DCPS is battling coronavirus. This has put a lot of strain on usual police work,” Lamba said.

An SHO posted at an important police station said that regular policing has become difficult. “Due to high positivity rate in the city, we can’t easily pick up a suspect and bring him into the police station for inquiry, as he or she could put the entire staff at risk. Many police stations have small rooms with little ventilation. Therefore, we have to be very judicious when we bring anyone to the police station,” the SHO said wishing anonymity.

Keeping in mind the grim situation, the Jaipur police about a fortnight ago introduced a new Coivd-19 operations