CHENNAI: Despite repeated appeals, some people still don’t think the situation is scary enough and are roaming the streets. It’s cat and mouse game on the roads as people are seen taking to their heels on the seeing the police. The personnel manning the roads did catch some people and dealt with them. Left with no other choice, the police booked people coming out for no apparent reason and over the last four days around 14,000 cases had been registered and 17,000 persons have been arrested.
The fine collected from violators is Rs 4.8 lakh, police said. A police officer said the arrests could have been much more had they had booked everyone roaming on the streets without a valid reason. “People just do not realise that the lockdown is for their own good,” a police officer said. A visit to residential areas at Pulianthope, Washermenpet, Kodungaiyur, Tiruvottriyur, Vyasarpadi, Ayanavaram, MKB Nagar and Kondithope showed that people are aware of the consequences of stepping out, but chose to ignore them. “What is the use of just being
inside the house and believing what the government says,” said an elderly woman chatting with her neighbours on the road. As a police patrol passed them, the officer told them to go inside. A senior police officer told Express, “We can only warn them, caution them. Whenever we go to nab the violators they go inside their houses and people come out and question us. We only watch and wait for them to get to the main roads to seize their vehicles and book them for violation.” Tamil Nadu police have seized 11,565 vehicles in 15,610 violation cases done during curfew.