Over 10,000 vehicles impounded in a day for lockdown violation in Gujarat

Vehicle owners violating coronavirus lockdown guidelines is becoming a regular phenomenon across the country. On Sunday, the Gujarat police announced that it has seized more than 10,000 vehicles in a single day for lockdown violations.

"On Saturday, we registered 2,715 FIRs for lockdown violations, 962 for flouting quarantine and 506 for other issues related to lockdown. We arrested 5,390 persons, and seized 10,488 vehicles," Director General of Police Shivanand Jha was quoted as saying by PTI.

The lockdown for the coronavirus outbreak, which began on March 24, will continue till May 3 across India.

The government’s guidelines on lockdown 2.0 says that private vehicles for emergency services, including medical and veterinary care and for procuring essential commodities, will be allowed. In such cases, one passenger besides the private vehicle driver can be permitted in the backseat in a four-wheeler; in case of two-wheelers, however, only the driver of the vehicle is permitted.

The government also said that these new guidelines will not apply in containment zones, as demarcated by states, union territories and district administration.

Despite the government guidelines on vehicular movement, several cases of people flouting the lockdown rules has prompted authorities in many cities to crack the whip. In particular, Noida in Uttar Pradesh has been one such city where cars flouting lockdown rules have been dealt with severely. As many as 169 vehicles were penalised on Friday for flouting lockdown norms.

According to a statement released by Noida Police, several checkpoints have been placed to check on violations. "Four FIRs were registered on Friday for lockdown violations and eight people arrested. A total of 624 vehicles were checked across 200 barrier points in the district and challans issued to 169 of them, while two others were impounded," the statement read.

In Puducherry, more than 9,000 vehicles were impounded for violating lockdown guidelines earlier this month. Senior Superintendent of Police Rahul Alwal said the police personnel were on daily basis booking cases against those violating the lockdown rules by driving through various parts without any valid reason.

(With inputs from agencies)