Delhi elected 26 MLAs facing criminal cases: ADR

New Delhi, March 25

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Delhi elected 43 MLAs facing criminal cases in the recent Assembly elections and 26 of them won against a runner-up “with a clean background”, a new report by the Association for Democratic Reforms and Delhi Election Watch said on Wednesday.

The report also said the people in the national capital elected 52 “crorepati” MLAs with 15 winning against a “non-crorepati” candidate. Of the 26 MLAs who defeated candidates with a clean background, nine registered a victory margin of more than 20 per cent.

AAP’s Burari MLA Sanjeev Jha, who had declared several criminal cases pending against him in his election affidavit, registered the largest victory margin — 39.67 per cent, the report said. Only eight MLAs with clean background won against a runner-up with declared criminal cases, ADR, a non-government organisation, said.

Among the 43 MLAs facing criminal cases, 37 had declared in their affidavits serious penal offences, including those related to rape, attempt to murder and crime against women, pending against them, it said.

Thirteen of the 37 MLAs had declared cases related to crime against women.

In the previous Assembly, 24 MLAs had declared criminal cases against themselves. “Fifteen out of 52 ‘crorepati’ MLAs won against a ‘non-crorepati’ runners-up. Six won with a victory margin of more than 20 per cent,” the ADR said. PTI

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Sit-ups, squats, ‘murga, police try every way to keep people indoors

New Delhi, March 25

With people continuing to step out for “non-essential” activities amidst the COVID-19 lockdown, the police across the country have come up with unique ways to highlight the importance of staying at home.

From making ‘COVIDIOTS’ (a term coined for those flouting restrictions) squat on the road and do sit-ups, to making them pose with pamphlets admitting their fault, police officials have pulled out all stops to drive home the message.

“Think before you step out during lockdown in #AndhraPradesh. Vijayawada police are finding new ways to restrict traffic. The Chief Minister @ysjagan has allowed only one per family to purchase essentials, gathering more than 5 is strictly prohibited. #AndhraFightsCorona,” writes a user on microblogging site Twitter.

A similar awareness tactic was used by the Maharastra police which in a video posted on the social media is seen making at least nine people do sit-ups near a traffic signal, evoking both laughter and appreciation.

The Centre had last week announced a lockdown till March 31 in 80 districts across India to contain the spread of the deadly virus. The restrictions were extended after PM Narendra Modi on Tuesday night declared a 21-day nationwide lockdown. The virus has claimed nine lives and infected 562 people in the country. The police in Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand took their creative ways a notch higher to ensure that the curfew was followed.

“UP Police punished unnecessary people wandering around in order to make ‘public curfew’ successful and maintain #Social_Distancing #Covid19India,” posted a Twitter user. The accompanying video showed the police resorting to the age-old ‘murga’ punishment to teach the defaulters a lesson.

While defaulters in Punjab were asked to either crawl on all fours or lie down flat on the road, those in Uttarakhand were made to pose with pamphlets that read, “I’m enemy of society; I won’t stay home”.

“#PunjabLockDown #PunjabPolice Nagin dance bhi karva do Bhai inse… why can’t people getting in there brains at it is very serious matter… Please stay at home… (police makes people crawl from one place to another) #StayAtHomeSaveLives #StayHomeStaySafe #COVID2019 (sic),” a Twitter user posted along with pictures of people being punished in Punjab.

Niti Aayog chief Amitabh Kant took to Twitter to praise the Delhi police for its ways of encouraging social distancing. Sharing a video of a few police personnel driving people out of a public park peacefully while telling them the importance of staying indoors, he wrote, “Delhi Police at its best! As Gr8 Ambassadors of #SocialDistancing ! #StaySafeStayHome” It was not all praise for the force as many netizens also shared instances of the police crossing the line.

In places like Guntur, Telangana, Sikar (Rajasthan), the police was seen beating up those flouting the rules with lathis. “A can driver was basically trashed by police near Guntur bus stand. (you need to educate people and this kind of atrocity will create dissatisfaction and anger among people where you desperately need social cooperation) #AndhraPradesh #APLockDown #fightagainstcorona,” a user posted with a video.

“This is really appalling! Doctors returning home from the hospital in Telangana are being stopped and harassed by police for breaking curfew. This is even after they have showed the police their ID cards,” another user posted with a video showing an altercation between the police and a group of individuals.

PTI