Delhi top cop admits to misconduct by police during lockdown; harassment reported from across country

Delhi Police Commissioner S.N. Shrivastava on Wednesday admitted that he has received several complaints about misbehaviour by policemen during the lockdown. However, he issued guidelines through an audio statement and asked them to be more careful.

He said: "Several complaints of misconduct by the police during the lockdown have been received. The police should not do this. They should, rather, assist people in dealing with the difficulties during the pandemic outbreak. The Delhi Police should not only help the people but also the animals during this hour of crisis."

"It is our duty to understand the needs of a common man and solve them in a convenient manner," he added.

He said the entire nation is under a lockdown due to the coronavirus outbreak. It is the duty of the police to take care of the common man. "We should be careful that no elderly person should get into trouble during the crisis. The police should not obstruct in the distribution of essential commodities. They should also see that the people who bring their pets out should not be troubled."

The police should cooperate with those who are going for home delivery. No one should face trouble during the lockdown, he added.

He asked the police not to unnecessarily stop those who are related with the healthcare services.

A large amount of milk, food and fresh produce items were thrown away as the police misbehaved with and harassed the delivery persons, the NDTV quoted the promoter of online supplier BigBasket, FreshMenu and Portea Medical as saying and calling for an urgent intervention from the government.

MilkBasket was forced to dump 15,000 litres of milk and 10,000 kg of vegetables. It will not be able to deliver fresh milk in Gurgaon, Noida and Hyderabad even on Day 2 of the lockdown. The complaints of the police harassing, beating or misbehaving with the delivery persons of essential services were reported from across the country.

Despite the fact that the essential products providers were allowed and permitted to continue with their door-to-door service amidst lockdown due to coronavirus, E-commerce companies delivering essentials complained about being harassed and beaten up by the police.

K Ganesh, promoter of online platforms like BigBasket, FreshMenu and Portea Medical, said, “Over the last few days, policemen have abused, assaulted and in one case even arrested a delivery agent leading to huge disruption in their activities,” stated NDTV.

Although Grofers informed the customers in Delhi through Twitter on Wednesday evening that they are once again taking orders, however, delivery of the products can take longer hours:

With IANS inputs