Police make people hop with bags as punishment for violating lockdown, SSP apologises

Budaun (Uttar Pradesh) [India], Mar 26 : In a case of police high handedness and apparent cruelty, people possibly going to their native places were made to hop along a road with their bags strapped on their backs as a punishment for violating the lockdown.

In the video of the incident, a few men can be seen being made to hop along the road with a stick-wielding policeman keeping a watch.

After the incident surfaced, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Budaun Ashok Kumar Tripathi expressed his apology and said the matter is being probed.

"Being the police chief of the district, I feel sorry and apologise for this. An investigation is being conducted against those responsible," he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced a countrywide lockdown on Tuesday as a measure to check the spread of the highly contagious coronavirus.

The total number of positive coronavirus cases in the country now stands at 649, including 593 active cases, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

Of the total cases, 42 persons have been cured or discharged and 13 have died.

( With inputs from ANI )