Mumbai Police has registered over 266 new cases against people and booked them under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code for violating prohibitory orders, unlawful assembly on Saturday, taking the total number to 2,736 from March 20. Police have booked 5,040 people for the offence, of which 3,770 were arrested and released on bail, 1,011 were let off with a notice and 258 are yet to be arrested. All these accused were prosecuted under Section 188 for disobedience of orders.
The state government had issued prohibitory orders on March 14, to curb the spread of coronavirus, followed by a country-wide lockdown till April 14 announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which was later extended to April 30 by Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.
Accordingly, those found flouting the rules were booked for various sections. The figures released by Mumbai Police on Sunday indicate that they have booked a total of 5,040 people for flouting rules, of which 3,770 were granted bail and 1,011 were given a warning after issuing a notice, until Saturday. Police are still on the lookout for 258 people, said Mumbai Police public relations officer and Deputy Commissioner of Police (Operations) Pranaya Ashok.
The offenders were booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including disobedience to order, duly promulgated by public servant (188) and Section 115 of the Bombay Police Act, for spitting in public. Till Saturday, 2,736 offences were registered at police stations across the city, of which 266 were registered on Saturday alone.
Special squads have been put in place to closely monitor activities of people who are home quarantined to ensure they do not leave their homes, risking the lives of other people.