1. AP Court Jails 13 for 2 Days Over Lockdown Violation
In a first in the country, a court in Andhra Pradesh on Thursday, 26 March, sentenced a group of 13 people to two days’ imprisonment and penalised each of them Rs 1,000 for violating the lockdown.
While people have been booked for violating the nationwide shutdown imposed by PM Narendra Modi two days ago, this is the first instance of a court sentencing people to jail for the crime. Under Section 51of the Disaster Management Act, a person can be jailed for a term which may extend up to one year for violating government orders during lockdown.
(Source: The Times of India)
2. Chandigarh Woman’s Husband, In-Laws Held for Dowry Death
A man and his parents were arrested on Thursday for dowry death, two days after his wife, Archana, hanged herself at their Sector 44 house on Tuesday.
Police identified the accused as Manoj Kumar Mishra, his parents Sudama Mishra and Saket Mishra. They were booked under Section 304-B (dowry death) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance with common intention) of Indian Penal Code (IPC) by the Sector 34 police on the complaint of victim’s father Satya Bhushan Mishra.
According to the police, Satya, who retired from Intelligence unit of the Indian Army, alleged that his daughter got married to Manoj in 2016. “We gave ₹10 lakh cash and gold jewellery to her in-laws. However, they were not satisfied and persistently demanded more money from my daughter. She would tell me about the problems she was facing,” Satya stated in the FIR.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
3. Man Held for ‘Killing’ Brother Over Spat Due to Stepping out During Lockdown
A 28-year-old man was arrested on Thursday for allegedly killing his younger brother in Kandivali after a fight erupted between them over stepping out of the house during the lockdown announced due to the coronavirus outbreak.
According to police, the incident took place around 10 am on Wednesday, when the younger brother, Durgesh Thakur (21), insisted that his brother Rajesh and wife stay home, owing to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement of a lockdown.
Police said Durgesh worked as a waiter in Pune and Rajesh in a saloon in Kandivali. Durgesh, having lost his job due to the lockdown, was staying with Rajesh and his wife, police added.
(Source: The Indian Express)
4. Police Book 3,411 for Violating Orders Issued to Contain COVID-19 Spread
Since restrictions were imposed by the Maharashtra government for preventing the spread of COVID-19 over the fortnight, state police has booked of 3,411 people for violating various orders.
“Over the past fortnight, we have registered a total of 3,411 cases under IPC section 188 across the state for against people for violating orders taken out in order to prevent the outbreak of COVID-19,” said Milind Bharambe, special inspector general, law and order, Maharashtra.
These offences have been registered for various reasons including violation of home quarantine rules, keeping hotels and other eateries open, operating pan shops and other shops which are not included in essential services but were still operating, unlawful assembly of five or more people in one place, use of vehicles by people which are not included in essential services and hawkers.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
5. 39 Booked in Rajasthan for Spreading COVID-19 Rumours
The Rajasthan Police has arrested 39 people across the state for spreading rumours about the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak over the past five days, said Bhagwan Lal Soni, additional director general of police, crime.
Soni said that out of the 39, 26 were booked under section 151 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPc) and the rest under section 505 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Section 151 of the CrPC pertains to arrest to prevent commission of a cognisable offence, and Section 505 of the IPC refers to punishment for incitement of any class or community to commit any offence against any other class or community. The punishment for violation of Section 505 of the IPC can be imprisonment for three years, or fine, or both. It is a non-bailable offence.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
6. Convict Escapes 2nd Time, Held in Thane During Lockdown
A 40-year-old man who was convicted to a life term in a triple murder case but had escaped from the Bettiah sessions court in Bihar in January 2019 before being caught, was unlucky for the second time. After fleeing, he was again traced to Thane on Thursday by the city crime branch.
Incidentally, it was on 4 January 2018 that the accused, Parjeet Singh, during a bandh called in the backdrop of Koregaon Bhima violence, was caught in Thane by the same crime branch from Cidco area. Singh had in December 2016, along with four others escaped from the high-security Buxar central jail in Bihar in December 2016 and was traced to Thane.
On 27 January 2019, he again escaped from Bettiah sessions court in another extortion case which he had committed after fleeing Buxar jail.
(Source: The Times of India)
7. Man Assaults SRPF Constable Who Questioned Him for Being Out
A 25-year-old State Reserve Police Force (SRPF) constable was assaulted by a biker, who was travelling with his wife and child, for questioning why the biker was out on Wednesday, 25 March.
The constable was on patrolling duty when the incident took place. A video of the incident went viral on social media. As the constable asked the rider why he was out, “the motorcyclist got into a heated argument which scaled further with the two assaulting each other,” said a police officer.
“We registered a case against the unknown biker under sections 353, 332, 504 and 188 of the Indian Penal Code. We are checking the video to identify the biker,” said S Agawane, senior inspector, Agripada police station.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
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