From bikers to barbers, 2,000 held for breaking lockdown in Kolkata

KOLKATA: Cops swooped down on a group of 24 people chatting at a Kalighat locality on Wednesday. On seeing the police van, the crowd dispersed in every direction. Cops kept warning that no one should congregate anywhere during the lockdown. An hour later, the Kalighat police received the tip off that the group was back again. In the next one hour, police rounded up all of them.
Kolkata Police has arrested 2,327 persons so far, including 1,874 in first 48 hours of lockdown.From people roaming with friends around Rabindra Sarobar to travelling from Behala and Mukundapur to catch up with friends at Jadavpur, police have found several instances of people violating the lockdown on flimsiest grounds. Most of the arrests involve groups of people.

At Lords Crossing on Prince Anwar Shah Road, police rounded up several youths racing in bikes. Slightly ahead near Rabindra Sarobar, even the closed gates did not deter youths from walking inside. The Chhoto Lake in Lake Gardens turned out to be a major go-to zone for those getting “bored being stuck at home”. At CR Avenue-Kapalitola Lane crossing, several bikers were moving around in lanes until they came under the scanner of the police. At Dover Road, police arrested youths after their repeated attempts to displace them from a near a local shop failed.
At Rajabagan in the Port area, two groups of people were arrested for standing on the road and quarrelling even before they had hurt each other. At East Rajapur in Survey Park, three shopkeepers, including a salon owner, were arrested for not downing shutters, despite cops’ warning. They were also charged under IPC 271 (disobedience to quarantine rules) in addition to IPC 188. A customer was arrested for allegedly taking part in the melee.
At Survey Park, Sujoy Debnath, a sergeant of Purba Jadavpur Traffic Guard stopped a truck near Hiland Park crossing on Eastern Metropolitan Bypass and asked for a proof when he told him that he was ferrying goods for emergency services. When the driver failed, he was arrested. At Maninimohan Avenue, Bhowanipore police deflated tyres of bikes and cycles as the riders did not have a valid reason to be out on the road.