COIMBATORE: The district police have been ordered to register more cases on violators of the nationwide lockdown in order to ensure that spread of COVID-19 is brought under control, a senior police officer stated.
Speaking to TNIE, he said that upon receiving the instruction, more number of cases were registered on Wednesday, when compared to Tuesday.
The official statistics back his claims as well. In all, the police booked 396 cases and arrested 447 people on Tuesday, while on Wednesday, remarkably so, 1,089 cases were booked, while 1,183 people were arrested for violating norms. About Rs 1.88 lakh was collected in fines on the said day.
This comes as a major setback to people who have been ordered to stay at home, thus finding themselves without a month's earnings and staring at the possibility of emptying their savings.
On Thursday, Forty five-year-old M Vijaya from Flower Market came to RS Puram police station to pay `3,000 in fines in order to retrieve her son's two-wheeler that was seized. She alleged that the police seized the bike from her son on Sunday when he went out to purchase medicines for his father Muthusamy, who is a cardiac patient.
"Though my son had shown all medical reports of his father and explained that he was going to purchase medicines, the police imposed a fine of Rs 3,000 and seized his vehicle. They had also ill-treated my son out in the public. While, we are struggling to run our family during the lockdown, the police collect such a hefty fine from us and we had not even committed any violation," an anguished Vijaya stated.
Her request was that people who come out to get essential items be treated fairly.
5,765 vehicles seized
According to sources, in Tirupur district, from March 25, 6,176 people were booked for violating curfew norms and 5,765 vehicles were seized. Besides, 261 cases were booked for prohibition-related cases. A large number of violators were noted in the district at places such as Dharapuram, Mangalam, Pongalur, etc.