With people continuing to step out for non-essential activities amidst the COVID-19 lockdown, 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 the stops from their kitty of creativity 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.
He accompanied the tweet with a 14 second-long video of the Andhra Pradesh police making defaulters do sit-ups with crossed hands.
A similar awareness tactic was used by the Maharastra police, which in a video posted on social media, is seen making at least nine people do sit-ups near a traffic signal, evoking both laughter and appreciation for the officials.
The central government had last week announced a lockdown till March 31 in 80 districts across India to contain the spread of the deadly coronavirus. The restrictions were extended after Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday night declared a 21-day nationwide lockdown.
The virus has claimed nine lives and infected 562 people in the country.
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The police forces in Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand took their creative ways a notch higher to ensure that the public curfew is 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 shows the police resorting to the age old murga' punishment to teach the defaulters a lesson. Murga punishment is a stress position used as a corporal punishment where sit-ups are done holding the ears.
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 said, 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), one Twitter user posted along with pictures of people being punished in Punjab.
Niti Aayog chief Amitabh Kant also 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"