Coronavirus outbreak: Police given free hand, says Ajit Pawar

MUMBAI: As the number of corona-infected cases rose to 107 with ten fresh cases being reported on Tuesday, five of which were from Mumbai, the government, which has been helplessly watching people treating this pandemic with callous abandon, has asked the police force and government servants to ensure a strict lock down. Maharashtra had one more death late on Monday night when a 65 year old who had returned from UAE died in Mumbai.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Tuesday said that the police “have been given a free hand to deal with the situation”. The Maharashtra government had on Monday night issued a five-page notification which said that “no suit or legal proceedings shall lie against any person for anything done or intended to be done in good faith under these regulations”.

This means that all government servants have been given blanket legal immunity of protection by the state for enforcement of these regulations. People are still thronging public markets and are out on the roads even as the state administration on Monday night asked the district collectors, municipal commissioners and IPS officers to take steps to ensure that people stay at home. The rising number of cases has unfortunately not deterred people from moving in crowds.


From Monday evening and on Tuesday, police across the state have begun beating up people, mostly youth, who were out on the roads without any valid reason. Cops in Nagpur, Aurangabad, Parbhani and other cities began chasing youngsters who came out on scooters.