'...Following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement on March 24 that the country would be placed under lockdown for 21 days, around 120 labourers, working at a welding factory in Bengaluru set out on a road journey of over 1870- kilometres to reach their homes in Barmer and other neighbouring districts in Rajasthan. The labourers, like several lakh distressed migrants across the country, set out on a precarious journey with little money or food, with the hope to return to their homes.
'Even as the total number of the people testing positive for COVID-19 rose to 335 in Uttar Pradesh (UP) , in the first such case all over the country, a Dalit youth committed suicide on Wednesday after he was allegedly beaten up by the UP police for breaking quarantine rules. A resident of Fariya Pipariya village which falls in Lakhimpur district, the Dalit youth, Roshan Lal worked as a daily wage worker in Gurugam...'
'Of the scores of horrific video clips in circulation of the anti-Muslim violence that engulfed large parts of North East Delhi a month ago, one piece of mobile-phone footage has been indelibly seared into our collective memories. Even a country habituated to seeing Muslim victims of lynchings being filmed by their attackers was stunned at the sight of the assailants in this video – men in police uniform... A month later there has been no investigation, no explanations offered by police, leave alone starting an inquiry that would hold the assailants accountable.
'The BJP’s Ghaziabad MLA has asked the police to shoot violators of the 21-day lockdown announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to contain the spread of the coronavirus. According to a report in the Deccan Herald, Nand Kishor Gurjar has also announced a cash reward of Rs 5,100 to every cop who shoots the violators. Calling the violators “traitors”, Gurjar said that “cops should break their legs….if they do not follow the orders then the police should shoot them in their legs’.’...'
'To a man with a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. To the Indian Police, every situation can be solved with a bit of violence. That seems to be the dictum of police authorities around the country, as India enters Day 2 of the three-week lockdown announced on Tuesday by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Pictures and videos have emerged from around the country of people being brutally hit by lathis, of doctors being assaulted and of vegetable vendors being slapped around and extorted for bribes...'
'A 32-year-old man in West Bengal’s Howrah went out to buy milk during the lockdown on Wednesday when he was beaten up by the police. He later passed away after the thrashing. His family has alleged he died of the injuries. The man has been identified as Lal Swami, a resident of Howrah, who stepped out of his residence to buy milk. His wife has alleged he faced police lathicharge when the personnel were clearing a gathering on the streets, reported ABP Ananda...'
'In the past week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in every speech he made, stressed on the importance of staying home right now. Given the urgency to curtail the spread of coronavirus in the country, PM Modi said, “Ghar main rahiye, ghar main rahiye, ghar main rahiye (stay home, stay home, stay home).” A similar message was repeatedly broadcasted by Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray in his daily video bulletins. “Ghari raaha, surakshit raaha (stay home, stay safe)” was how he ended each of his speeches.
'AHEAD of Prime Minister Narendra Modi announcing a 21-day countrywide lockdown to contain the spread of COVID-19, long queues had formed on highways of trucks carrying essential goods and commodities, including medicines, milk, fruits and vegetables, by Tuesday, hours into several states sealing borders. While goods trains fall in the exempted category, freight services too were hit as states did not mention ‘Railways’ as essential service in their respective orders...
'When H. received an urgent message from the hospital on Monday night asking her to come in to work, she knew it would be bad. The world was in the grips of a pandemic, and her home state in south India had discovered 22 positive cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. For weeks, the hospital where she worked had been all hands on deck — even doctors not treating coronavirus patients were required to take throat and nose swabs, check symptoms, and decide who needed medical assistance.
'Residents say that the police were also beating them up after being seen at grocery stores... Several residents of Bengaluru city have complained that police personnel, deployed to enforce the lockdown, have been shutting down grocery stores and drinking water units. This, despite the Karnataka Chief Secretary Vijay Bhaskar issuing an order that clearly said that grocery stores are essential services that will be allowed to operate...'
