Police in Uttarakhand have come up with a novel way to punish those violating the norms of COVID-19 lockdown in the hilly state as they forced at least 10 nationals to write ‘I am sorry’ 500 times as their punishment.
This was after cops caught 10 foreigners roaming near the banks of river Ganga in Rishikesh. They were warned and advised to remain indoors until the nationwide lockdown was in force.
Vinod Sharma, in-charge of the police post in Tapovan, was quoted by New Indian Express, “These foreign nationals were in violation of lockdown. They were warned and advised to remain indoors. They were each ordered to write ‘I did not follow the lockdown, I am sorry’ 500 times on sheets of paper.”
According to a report by news agency PTI, around 500 foreigners are staying in the Tapovan area these days and they are often seen violating the lockdown rules, throwing caution to the wind.
Uttarakhand has reported 40 positive cases of coronavirus with zero fatalities. Of them, five have been cured and discharged.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi may announce on Sunday whether he intends to extend the current 21-day lockdown further. While he’s been advised by most state chief ministers to extend the lockdown until the end of April, he may announce a few relaxations to the existing restrictions.