Unmasked: 1,700 booked in 11 days in Delhi

NEW DELHI: Delhi Police has booked 1,727 people for stepping out of their homes without masks since the restrictions were lifted on June 8. It has also booked 23 people who were caught spitting on the road. Out of these, 11 were from the high-security area around Chanakyapuri and four from Lutyens’ Delhi.

The violators were made to clean the road. According to the data shared by Delhi Police, the maximum number of people stepping out of their homes without masks was caught in south Delhi.Out of the 1,727 people challaned across the capital, 257 were from here. The maximum number of people violating social distancing norms was found to be from northeast Delhi. More than 105 people were booked here in the past two weeks.
Delhi Police spokesperson, Mandeep Singh Randhawa, said that people violating the government order by not wearing masks when outdoors will have to pay fines between Rs 200 and Rs 1,000. Apart from this, criminal cases under Section 188 IPC (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) can also be registered against the violator.
The cops say that most people who had stepped out without masks claimed that they had either kept their masks in their offices or homes nearby and had stepped out to complete a quick chore. Some of them caught near Connaught Place on Thursday claimed to have stepped out without a mask to have lunch.
Police officers say that as per the government order, any person working at any site, office and workshop must wear a face mask. “These masks may be standard masks available with the chemist or even homemade washable masks that can be reused after proper washing and disinfection,” the order said.
Almost 95% of the people caught spitting on road were found to be chewing tobacco. “We have been keeping water bottles at hand and stopping these violators to clean up the portion of the road before asking them to pay a fine,” said a police officer.
Social distancing norms were found to be violated especially during the morning hours near markets or bus stops in border areas. “Despite announcements being made, people try to reach quickly to their destination and in the process violate the norms. We have been using public address systems asking them to keep a distance, but a lot of them were still found to be violating the norms,” said a policeman posted in east Delhi.