Cops punish lockdown violators by posting their pics online

Mumbai, Apr 15 () Kolhapur Police in Maharashtrahave come up with a new idea of publicly shaming lockdownviolators by posting their pictures on social media.

The drive was launched on Tuesday and over 40offenders were punished as part of it, a police official said.

This was done after police found several well educatedand "over smart" people, who were aware of the situation,coming out of their homes for morning and evening walks andviolating the lockdown guidelines, he said.

"To punish such people, we created some selfie pointswith the message I am irresponsible, I am selfish'. Theoffenders are asked to click a selfie there and it is thenposted on the Facebook page of police," KolhapurSuperintendent of Police Abhinav Deshmukh said.

This kind of punishment will put social pressure onthe educated people, who violate the prohibitory orders bycoming out of their homes without any valid reason, he said.

The selfie points have been created by police atKalamba and Phule Wadi.

Those caught so far for violating the lockdown includedoctors, teachers and young students, he said.

Police also recorded videos about the reasons whythese people came out of their homes and all of them gaveunsastifactory replies, the official said, adding that someeven gave false identities.

"One can understand if a labourer or daily wagercomes out of home in search of work or food for his family.But these people are coming out for morning and evening walks,which is a very irresponsible behaviour at this crucial time,"Deshmukh said.

He said many of the offenders did not even wear masksand did not follow the social distancing guidelines.

"They have a feeling that nothing will happen tothem," he said.

The police are hopeful that this drive will makepeople realise their mistake and they would stay indoors. DCGK GK