Navi Mumbai : Super squad formed to tackle Covid19 rule breakers

Mumbai : Navi Mumbai Police is now forced to form a special squad after aggressive behaviour of people towards civic staff on Covid-19 duty. This special squad will be given duty to tackle unruly elements. There have been many instances in the past wherein people who were flouting the rules resorted to unruly behaviour.

Now, Navi Mumbai Police and the civic body have come together and formed a joint squad to conduct daily surprise inspections in order to tackle the menace and spread a strict message.

A civil official said, “Earlier, 8-10 squads were formed for this purpose but there were reports of people getting into heated arguments whenever an officer or two went out for checks. So, we have decided to form a bigger squad.”

Now according to the new decision, a bigger squad would include around 30-40 police officials and 20-25 civic body staff.

On March 4, people were fined for not abiding by rules when the police along with the civic officials inspected the area around the APMC market in Navi Mumbai, one of the most critical areas in Navi Mumbai.

According to the data of Civic officials, more than 10,000 people had been fined and cases were registered  in the last one month against more than 200 people for not following rules. On March 3, Navi Mumbai registered 159 new coronavirus cases.

“Seeing the rising number of cases in Mumbai and nearby areas, it was important for people to follow Covid appropriate behaviour and abide by the rules or face action,” said Police officials.

“The APMC market is the largest market in the state. The market sees around 14-15,000 people on a daily basis. This place had to be shut down as it was vulnerable last year in the height of the pandemic, which inconvenienced both the suppliers and consumers. So, this year we have decided to be extra careful and not let the APMC market become a super spreader,” said DCP Suresh Mengade.