Pune Police punish morning walkers, reprimand them with exercise on roads

 Pune Police made 100 people, including 25 to 30 morning walkers, perform yoga and exercise as punishment on roads

Pune Police on Thursday meted out healthy punishment to morning walkers who violated the COVID-19 lockdown, by making them perform yoga and other forms of exercise.

As many as a 100 people, including 25 to 30 morning walkers, were made to perform yoga and other forms of exercise by personnel of Kondhwa Police Station, an official said. "Apart from morning walkers, we also caught hold of people who had ventured out of their homes early in the morning to buy essentials," senior inspector Vinayak Gaikwad of Kondhwa police station said.

He said that lockdown violators were made to stand in a row while maintaining proper distance and were asked to perform yoga and do some exercises. Cases will be registered against morning walkers under section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of the Indian Penal Code. "We will issue notices to others who stepped out to buy essentials," he added.

Kondhwa is one of the areas in Maharashtra's Pune city where several localities have been marked as containment zones after several COVID-19 cases were reported. "As per norms, Kondhwa residents are only supposed to go out to buy essentials between 10 am and 12 noon," Gaikwad said.

Similarly, Swargate police also detained over 70 people for roaming on the streets in the early hours of the day, while Bibvewadi Police made morning walkers from the area perform yoga as a penalty for stepping out of their homes during the lockdown.