In combat mode to prevent the spread of coronavirus, the police department is already overburdened with round-the-clock vigilance duty, however some mischief mongers continue to play truant. Four people including three women landed into the custody of the Thane (rural) police for acting smart with on-duty police personnel at Kashimira junction on Wednesday.
The accused quartet was headed towards Mumbai in a car when on-duty personnel stopped them for verification. The 48-year-old man who was on the driving seat not only gave evasive replies to the uniformed police personnel, but is also alleged to have asked a lady cop to stay away from him as he was infected with coronavirus.
Shocked by the revelation, the police team alerted medical staffers and registered an FIR against them. The driver neither had a driving license and the documents of the vehicle, nor any valid reason to roam around during lock-down, police said.
Apart from slapping cases under the Motor Vehicle Act and the IPC for actions that might spread infection of deadly diseases disobeying quarantine rules, all the accused have been charged under the relevant sections of the Epidemic Diseases Act and the Disaster Management Act. Further investigations were underway. It should be noted that the Thane (rural) police has effectively shut its border with Palghar and Mumbai by restricting “non-essential” vehicular traffic from the neighbouring cities to prevent the outbreak of coronavirus.
