A 29-year-old nurse was, on Tuesday, granted bail by a sessions court after over a month in prison in a case of scuffle with policemen when questioned for not wearing a mask on a public road.
The court said in its order that, as per her role, she had made altercations arrogantly and was not wearing a mask. It is considered that she has been in prison since the past one month and that the maximum punishment for the offence is three years. It further stated that, considering the nature of the offence, most of the probe will be over and, therefore, she can be released on bail.
The police had booked her under Section 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of duty), amongst other sections of the IPC, as well as under the National Disaster Management Act and Epidemic Diseases Act.
Roshna Jadhav, a resident of Chembur, had told in her bail plea that she had neither used criminal force, nor assaulted the policemen, while they were on duty. Her advocate told the court that she works as a nurse and is well aware of the seriousness of the virus. He further contended that she was wearing the mask and the police constable had registered the offence due to misunderstanding.
As per the complaint filed at Tilak Nagar police station, the informant was on night duty on April 15 last year and was supposed to see that the public followed safety rules with regard to the pandemic. At about 9pm, when he was passing Chheda Nagar, he noticed three ladies on the road, one of whom was not wearing a mask. He asked her why she was wandering during curfew time without a mask and she replied arrogantly. She then called three persons all of whom scuffled with him. The complaint also said that they pelted stones towards the police squad and caused injuries to two other contables.
