Punjab Police keep an eye on curfew violators with drones

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 3

Further tightening the noose around violators of the curfew in the state, the Punjab Police have launched drone surveillance, even as it cracked down heavily on black-marketers and hoarders amid reports of shortages of essential commodities.

A total of 62 establishments were raided today and 23 were found to be indulging in black-marketing or hoarding in Gurdaspur (10), Pathankot (4), Kapurthala (4) and Jalandhar (5), with another five challaned in Ferozepur, where penalty will be imposed after due procedure, DGP Dinkar Gupta disclosed.

Giving details of the drone surveillance started on Thursday, the DGP said the drones had so far been deployed in 34 locations across 10 districts of Mohali, Sangrur, Fazilka, Hoshiarpur, SBS Nagar, Barnala, Jalandhar (Rural), Moga, Ropar and Fatehgarh Sahib.

Drone surveillance, found to be highly effective in covering large areas for ensuring effective enforcement of curfew and for efficient utilisation of manpower, had, till Friday evening, led to registration of 15 FIRs and impounding of 20 vehicles of the violators.

In the past 48 hours, the total number of FIRs registered against violators was nearly 900, with 1,250 persons arrested and 800 vehicles impounded, said the DGP. The maximum of 119 FIRs were registered in Jalandhar City, followed by 93 in Amritsar.

Nearly 2,000 persons were taken into custody at the 21 open jails designated for holding curfew violators.

Notably, the police have so far registered a total of 1,784 FIRs on count of curfew violations, with the arrest of 2,592 persons.