Gujarat: 21 FIRs registered against people for flouting self-quarantine norms

Gujarat government on Monday said that over 11,000 persons are under quarantine for last 14 days, out of which 224 persons are kept in government facilities, while the rest of them have been isolated at home on the suspicion of being infected by coronavirus.

On the other hand, police have registered 21 FIRs against persons for flouting self-quarantine guidelines. Out of these case, 10 FIRs have been registered by March 21. In the last two days, 11 more FIRs were registered. On Sunday, deputy chief minister Nitin Patel had said that 93 persons were found to be violating such norms putting others' health in jeopardy.

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"We have lodged 21 FIRs in the past two weeks involving over hundred people. We have asked district police to form mobile teams to keep a check on such cases," said a senior IAS officer who is part of supervising team of the state government to oversee the crisis management.

Meanwhile, Ahmedabad police commissioner Ashish Bhatia said that three FIRs in similar offences were registered in various police stations in the last three days. He said that mobile police teams have been deployed to check if quarantined people are following the guidelines. He said that if they are found violating the rules, they would be first counseled but if they still do not obey the rules, legal action will be taken.

With 30 positive cases of coronavirus including a death, the state government is taking all measures to enforce complete lockdown in major cities like Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Vadodara, Surat, Rajkot and Kutch district. On Monday, notifications were issued to ban all commercial vehicles in the city including auto-rickshaw and cabs.

Out of these positive cases, five instances of local transmission of the virus have also been detected that has prompted the government to appeal people to stay home in any circumstances. Principal health secretary Jayanti Ravi said that "Gujarat has entered second phase of the crisis. Please adhere to social distancing strictly."