Delhi Police Commissioner S N Shrivastava has asked all the fifteen deputy commissioners of police (DCPs) to ensure that civil defence volunteers do not use their barricades for stopping and prosecuting violators of Covid norms. He has also asked them to ensure that people do not confuse civic defence volunteers with cops and a clear distinction can be made between them.
The top cop’s directive comes after several reports of volunteers issuing challans for Covid violations even though they are not empowered to do so. It often becomes difficult for people to make a distinction between cops and civil defence volunteers as all of them have identical uniforms. In November last year, a 23-year-old man was arrested for allegedly impersonating a police officer and issuing fake Covid challans in Ashok Vihar.
In a recent crime review meeting, the police chief first reviewed the Covid-19 prosecution done by the district DCPs and directed them that the measures need to be further stepped up. “He found that some of the districts are lagging behind on this front and directed that measures need to be stepped up by counselling and motivating the staff. Teams issuing challans should be sent to public places such as banquets and restaurants to check if norms are being violated. Appropriate legal action should be taken against the owner or manager of these places in case of violations. He also directed that the fines collected after issuing challans should be deposited promptly with the concerned authority,” a senior police officer said.
“Shrivastava also asked all the DCPs that it should be ensured that civil defence volunteers do not use our barricades to issue challans to the violators. If civil defence volunteers are found issuing challans without appropriate authority, the district DCPs should write to the concerned authority in this regard. It should be also ensured that Delhi Police personnel do not get mixed up with volunteers issuing challans in an unauthorised manner,” an officer said.
