With lockdown imposed across the country, life as we knew it has changed completely. While most of us have gotten restricted to our homes, the effect is exactly the opposite on medics, police and essential service providers whose work has increased and become riskier than ever.
But that is not where their struggle ends, these people also face assault for doing their jobs which is a matter of shame for the country. Here we list some of those instances.
1. A police officer in Jalandhar was dragged on the bonnet by a person who was asked to stop the vehicle amid the lockdown.
2. Violators in Punjab chopped off a policeman’s hand for trying to stop them from driving around during the lockdown.
Thanks to presence of mind and immediate help, his hand was later attached.
3. A village chowkidaar was made to do sit-ups by a bureaucrat just because he asked him to show the pass.
4. Mob in UP’s Moradabad threw stones at doctors who had come to help a person who was allegedly suffering from coronavirus. They also assaulted police officers who were trying to protect the medics.
5. A doctor in Meerut ended up fracturing his hand after a violent attack by people in his society.
6. A doctor and a policeman were attacked by a farmer and his sons, when they were merely trying to screen a possible coronavirus patient.
7. A medic, who worked on the frontline, was denied cremation by people after his death due to coronavirus. No one from his family could be a part of his last rites.
8. Men delivering food and other essential items were beaten up mercilessly for no fault of theirs.
9. Two AIIMS Bhopal doctors on emergency coronavirus duty, were beaten up by the police as they were returning home from work.
The police claimed they weren’t wearing masks but that doesn’t justify severe brutality of this nature in any way.
10. An IndiGo employee and her mother faced discrimination in their society by fellow residents who believed they could spread coronavirus.