130 FIRs filed for violations

Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, April 21

The police have registered at least 130 First Information Reports (FIRs) against the violators of Covid-19 norms across the state in the past 24 hours.

Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh had on Monday clamped stricter curbs, including extension of night curfew timings by one hour (8 pm to 5 am), closure of all bars, cinema halls, gyms, spas, coaching centres, sports complexes, with restaurants and hotels to be opened only for takeaway and home delivery from Monday to Saturday besides banning the gatherings of more 20 persons, including for weddings and cremations.

2,199 challaned for not wearing masks

As part of the drive to book and arrest persons found violating the safety protocols and Covid restrictions, the police challaned 2,199 people found without face masks during the past 24 hours. Since the special drive was started from March 19, 2021, the Punjab Police have taken over 4.1 lakh people for Covid testing besides fining as many as 71,422 people across the state for not wearing face masks.

DGP Dinkar Gupta said police had booked around 189 owners of marriage palaces, malls, hotels, restaurants, etc. for flouting the night curfew timings and gathering limits since April 18.

Giving details regarding the action against prominent establishments, a police spokesperson said the Bathinda police had registered a case under the Indian Penal Code and the Disaster Management Act against the manager of Civil Lines Club, Bathinda, caterer and the hosts for organising an Engagement Party having more than 20 guests, while the Tarn Taran police had booked owners of Hotel Sunstar for norms violations. Recently, the SAS Nagar police had arrested nine persons, including a hotel owner in Dhakoli, for organising a rooftop party at Grand Suites Hotel in the night with huge gathering and had also booked the owner of AKM Marriage Palace for holding a function with more than 20 persons.

Notably, the Patiala police have registered a maximum of 45 FIRs, including 35 against shop owners, five against restaurants, four against dhabas and one against protesters for violating Covid norms in the past 24 hours followed by 17 FIRs by the Jalandhar Commissionerate Police.

The DGP said to check the gatherings around the marriage palaces, hotels, malls, etc. the police have laid around 400 special nakas across the state. The police would enforce a zero tolerance policy against those found violating the number limit of 20 and 10 relating to social and other gatherings, he said.

Meanwhile, the DGP has also warned of stringent against rumour-mongers who are spreading panic by spreading rumours and fake posts regarding the pandemic on different social media platforms.