COVID-19: Police perform ‘aarti' of people who violate lockdown norms

For strictly adhering to COVID-19 lockdown norms, police officers in various states are resorting to unique methods for keeping people off the streets. Recently, policemen at Kidwai Nagar in Kanpur performed ‘aarti’ of those who violated the lockdown norms and sprinkled flower petals over them. In a video released by ANI, police officers can be seen chanting mantras while performing the aarti and also gave bhog or ‘prasad’ to those people flouting lockdown rules.

Similarly, policemen in Maharashtra also performed ‘aarti’ and sang bhajans, in a sarcastic gesture to ‘honour’ those who broke the lockdown norms. Earlier, cops in few areas punished people by ordering them to become a ‘murga’ on the streets.

These gestures represent a ‘Gandhigiri’ way of creating awareness among people to not flout lockdown rules, stay at home, and save the country from getting plagued by coronavirus. In few other areas, police officers were also seen singing patriotic songs and playing music on the streets for sensitizing people towards their role in saving the nation.

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So far, a total of 19,987 COVID-19 cases have been detected in India and 640 people have succumbed to the virus. The Central government has ordered the extension of the nationwide lockdown till May 3, 2020 as a preventive measure to contain the spread of the infection.