KOCHI: Unscientific enforcement of CrPC Section 144 clamped by the police has caused widespread protests among residents and traders in the state capital. The decree against public gathering of more than five people was imposed by the district collector last Saturday especially to contain the spiralling cases of Covid-19. However, lack of proper guidelines for the enforcement seems to have given a free hand to the police. Meanwhile, the police officials and district administration are passing the buck by blaming each other for the growing dissent among various sections of the public. General Secretary of Federation of Residents’ Association Trivandrum (FRAT) J Moses said that the association has been receiving plenty of complaints regarding unnecessary restrictions being imposed by the police.
“We have decided to take this issue with the state government. Everyone complied with the lockdown restriction, containment zone restrictions and the triple lockdown. However, now, the situation is worse and families are not allowed to step out from their homes in some places.
There seems to be no system in place,” said Moses. He added that official letters have been sent to every residents’ association for collecting feedback on the enforcement. A senior official of the Kerala Police said the district administration imposed Section 144 without proper guidelines. “Once the district administration issues proper guidelines, all the issues would be resolved,” said the official.
With traders being the worst hit by the new restrictions, they have approached the district collector demanding unified guidelines bringing to her notice that the police are coming up with different rules in different areas. According to them, the police are demanding the traders to shut down the shops at 2pm in some areas. District general secretary of Kerala Vyapari Vyavasayi Ekopana Samithi (KVVES) S S Manoj said that police officials are taking out their frustrations on traders. “We have been at the receiving end since the enforcement of Section 144. We are ready to comply with any rule if restrictions are the same for everyone. The clampdown seems to be the worst in rural areas, we have received multiple complaints,” said Manoj.
“Aryankodu police at Vellarada are not allowing shops to function after 2pm. The police think that shutting down shops is the only way to contain the pandemic. We want the state government and district administration to intervene immediately,” added Manoj. Joseph Simon, a lottery ticket seller at Sreekaryam, said lottery ticket sellers are in deep crisis. “There are around 13 lottery agencies in the locality. We have been asked to shut shop at 10am. We are incurring a huge loss because of the restrictions,” said Joseph.
A senior official of the district administration said the order clearly states that the police should take necessary action to prevent the gathering of more than five people at a time in public places. “We will take necessary action if the police are imposing time regulations once we receive an official complaint,” said the official.
Blame game
The police officials and district administration are passing the buck by blaming each other for the growing dissent among various sections of the public. A senior police official said the district imposed Section 144 without proper guidelines