A sub-inspector in Madhya Pradesh’s Satna district is “punishing” lockdown violators by making them write the name for Lord Ram for 30-45 minutes and counselling them to stay at home and take care of their families.
Sub-inspector Santosh Singh, deployed at the Sindhi Camp Baba Dyaldas chowk in Bhopal — one of the 20 check points created to stringently enforce Corona curfew in the district — said the new way of punishing lockdown violators came to him after a nearby community donated several booklets to them. “We would earlier make them do sit-ups or make them sit for 45 minutes to an hour before allowing them to go, so, I just thought that they can instead write the name of Lord Ram for as long as they are comfortable as punishment before letting them go. We also cautioned them to sit at home and care for their parents instead of roaming out,” said Singh.
He said that so far, no one was forced to undergo this ‘punishment’ and that they ensured that the measure is not in conflict with their religious belief. “People were made to do it with their willingness. We have been doing it for 3 days and around 25 odd people have been punished so far, we have not received any complaints about it,” said Singh.
However, Satna’s Superintendent of Police, Dharmvir Singh, who was not aware of Santosh’s ways, clarified: “We have 20 such check points with two officers manning each point in two shifts. This measure was adopted by one officer in his capacity. It is not professional or legal which is not appreciated. He must adhere to what is legal and professional.”