File pic of the pastor Sultan Masih who was shot dead outside church at Salem Tabri in Ludhiana. Express Photo by Gurmeet Singh
The Ludhiana police Saturday booked at least 41 people for violating orders, which bans covering faces with clothes while driving. The action has come in wake of the recent murder of a pastor who was allegedly killed in Salem Tabri area last Saturday by two unidentified men on a motorbike. Their faces were probably covered and they have not been identified yet.
Though the ban orders were issued earlier by Police Commissioner, the police have now started booking people for violating the orders under Section 188 (disobedience to the orders duly promulgated by public servant). The violators have been booked in FIRs registered at various police stations across the city on Saturday.
Though all those booked on Saturday for violating the orders are men, Police Commissioner RN Dhoke said that the orders are meant for women as well. “The orders are not only for men but also for women. We will take appropriate action if women are also found driving with their face covered,” he said.
But sources in police department said that women are being given a strict warning and FIRs are not being registered against them. “We have been told to be slightly lenient while dealing with such cases and we are letting them go after a strict warning,” said a police official.
