Two trucks carrying 95 migrants illegally from Maharashtra were seized in Rishikesh over the last two days.
One truck with 33 migrants from Pune was seized near Saptrishi barrier of Raiwala on Sunday while another carrying 62 migrants from Nasik was seized by police in Muni ki Reti police station area on Saturday, police officials said.
Driver of the truck bringing migrants from Pune fled as he saw policemen waiting at Saptrishi barrier, an official at Raiwala police station said.
The truck, however, was seized and the migrants, who were travelling in it after paying the driver, were quarantined in Haripur area after being screened, he said.
Another truck was seized on Friday in Muni ki Reti police station area after it was found carrying 62 migrants illegally from Nasik, Tehri's Additional SP Uttam Singh Negi said.
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They were screened and offered food before being sent to their respective districts in Uttarakhand as they were travelling hungry, Negi said.
The truck driver was arrested and a case under different sections of the IPC and Disaster Management Act was registered against him but he was let off on bail, he said.
When contacted Director General (Law and Order) Ashok Kumar said the police is under great pressure with around 10,000 migrants returning on an average from different parts of the country daily.
They have to be properly screened before being quarantined or sent home as per COVID-19 protocol, he said.
"Truck drivers are perhaps taking advantage of our preoccupation with returnees coming in trains and buses. The police personnel at the barriers, however, have been asked to keep a tab on the movement of incoming trucks also," he said.
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