Woman, friend arrested for flouting lockdown norms, threatening cop

This picture has been used for representational purposes.

Kolkata: A woman, her friend and an app-based cab driver were arrested at Kolkata's Salt Lake on Wednesday afternoon for flouting lockdown norms imposed to contain the spread of the Coronavirus pandemic. According to the police, when the trio was stopped at the checkpoint, the woman and friend allegedly lied to the cops saying they had gone to buy medicines and got into a confrontation with them after which she smeared blood on a policeman's uniform from an old cut on her forehead, threatening to frame him for 'injuring' her, The Times of India reported.

The incident happened at around 12.30 pm on Wednesday when the woman, identified as Sharmista Debnath, and her friend Nirmal Balmiki with the driver of an app-based cab Mohd Javed were stopped by the police. According to the police, they asked the car to stop and asked for their identity cards and their purpose of stepping out of their houses amid a lockdown. Debnath and Balmiki had then told the police personnels that they were going to buy medicines. When the cops asked them for the prescriptions, they said that they were returning from the medical shop. Then the cops asked to show what they had bought, they showed them a few packets of noddles.

The police alleged that when they told Debnath and Balmiki that they would be prosecuted for violating lockdown norms, the former got out of the car, argued with them and bit an officer. Then Debnath scratched an old cut on her forehead, causing it to bleed and smeared the blood on the cop's uniform and said that she would frame him for 'injuring her'. The police also said that officers on the spot and onlookers caught the incident on different cameras.

Based on the complaints filed by the policemen at the spot of the incident, the cops of Bidhannagar Police station arrested, Debnath, Balmiki and Javed. They were charged under sections 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant), 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 269 (negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life), 270 (malignant act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life), 34 (common intention) and 506 (criminal intimidation). The police also said that the trio would be producd to court on Thursday.

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