Director General of Police Mr. Shivanand Jha said that Gujarat Police Department will make extensive efforts to enforce strict lockdown in the state for the remaining seven days of the lockdown. It is necessary for the citizens to continue cooperating with the police as they have done so far.
During the press conference, Mr. Jha said that lockdown will be enforced more stringently in areas where coronavirus infection is high and cluster quarantine is noted. SRP, CID crime branch , various police bodies, anti-corruption officers have also been deployed. From 13 DYSPs, 102 PIs, 51 PSIs, and 397 ASIs to constable level police personnel including SRP have been deployed.
Mr. Jha added that the efforts to enforce lockdown will be stepped up intensively with the joining of 2698 NCC and 2734 trained cadets as per the instructions of Gujarat Chief Minister Mr. Vijay Rupani.
He said that the Chief Minister also suggested taking special precautions to ensure that Corona does not spread in village areas and adhering to this, the police have also started patrolling in the rural areas of the state.
Mr. Jha further added that it is ensured that the police officials and other staff working on the ground do not suffer from corona virus. A separate system has been set up to check the health of all such police officers and employees working in the field. In the meantime, if the police personnel show any symptoms of COVID-19, it will be reported to the higher authorities with the help of technology. Along with this, their medical fitness will also be updated daily.
Certain people associated with essential services misuse the pass-permits they have received, and strict action has been initiated against these people. Such vehicles are also being monitored by the police through drones.
Mr. Jha appealed to the citizens to avoid unnecessary movement as the police are closely monitoring the entire movement through 114 drones and thousands of CCTV cameras in the state.
Referring to people from Gujarat who were associated with Delhi Nizamuddin Markaz, Mr. Jha added that till yesterday, 126 citizens were identified from the stat. Today, another person has been identified who is from Gandevi area of Navsari. This increases the total to 127 people associated with Delhi Nizamuddin Markaz. Most of them are reported to be from Ahmedabad, Bhavnagar, Mehsana, Junagadh, Botad, Surat, Chhotaudepur and Navsari area.
While more SRP teams have been deployed to ensure the smooth implementation of lockdown in all the cluster quarantined areas, Mr. Jha has appealed to the citizens to be cooperative and supportive to the police in such areas.
Mr. Jha said that police are keeping a vigil over social media and any person who generates or forwards any communally sensitive message on WhatsApp will be booked. As many as 18 offences were registered. So far, 131 crimes have been registered and 240 accused have been arrested. 346 crimes have been registered with the help of drones and 64 crimes with the help of CCTV.
A total of 2380 cases have been registered so far which include 1541 cases of violation of lockdown, 677 against violating home quarantine and 162 other cases. 3956 individuals have been booked and 8717 vehicles have been seized, added Mr. Jha.
