Bhayandar: A joke with the police proved a bit costly for four people including three women at Kashimira junction. The police department is already overburdened with round-the-clock vigilance duty to ensure that people don't crowd the streets of the city. However, some mischief mongers continue to play truant.
Four people including three women landed into the custody of the Thane (rural) police for acting smart with on duty police personnel on Wednesday. The accused quartet was headed towards Mumbai in a car when on duty personnel stopped them for verification.
The 48-year-old man who was on the driving seat gave them evasive replies. Furthermore, he allegedly asked a lady cop to stay away from him as he was infected with coronavirus. Shocked by the revelation, the police team alerted medical staffers and registered a FIR against them. The driver neither had driving license and documents of the vehicle, nor any valid reason to roam around during lock-down, police said.
Apart from slapping cases under the Motor Vehicle Act and the IPC for actions that might spread infection of deadly diseases by disobeying quarantine rules, all the accused have been charged under the relevant sections of the Epidemic Diseases Act and the Disaster Management Act.
Further investigations were underway. It should be noted that the Thane (rural) police has effectively shut its border with Thane. Palghar and Mumbai by restricting “non-essential” vehicular traffic from the neighbouring cities to prevent the outbreak of the virus.
