Gujarat: Locals pelt stones at cops in containment zone; 68 held

Ahmedabad, May 17

Residents of a COVID-19 containment zone in Gujarat’s Rajkot district pelted stones at police and damaged some vehicles when the security personnel tried to stop them from removing barricades placed in the area, an official said on Sunday.

Nearly 68 people were arrested after the incident that took place in Jangleshwar locality of Rajkot around Saturday midnight, he said, adding that police lobbed tear gas shells and baton-charged the rioters to disperse them and bring the situation under control.

Locals pelted stones at policemen and damaged vehicles when the security men tried to stop them from removing barricades placed in the area designated as ‘red zone’, due to a large number of coronavirus cases found there, an official from Bhaktinagar police station said.

People of the locality were upset as local authorities were not removing barricades in their area, even as barricades in some other areas under containment zone were being removed, Bhaktinagar’s police inspector V K Gadhvi said.

Police lobbed six teargas shells and baton-charged the mob to control the situation, he said.

Nearly 68 people were later arrested and booked under Indian Penal Code Sections 147, 148 (rioting), 149 (unlawful assembly), 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to public servant) and 353 (assault on public servant ), among others, he said.

Security was stepped up in the area to maintain law and order, he added. PTI