Dubai: India is under a nation-wide lockdown till May 3, and police officers all around the country are clamping down on violators. On twitter, the Chandigarh Police have been praised for their unique invention, which allows them to catch lockdown violators, while social distancing.
The Director General of Police, Chandigarh- Sanjay Baniwal took to twitter to upload a video of the metal contraption and how it works, with the caption: “VIP Security wing of Chandigarh Police has devised this unique way of tackling non-cooperating corona suspects and curfew breakers. Great equipment, great drill! Way to go @ssptfcchd…”
In the video, an officer is seen holding on to the long metal rod that has a tong-like structure on one end. If the police officers are trying to catch a person, the tongs allow them to grip the person by the waist, creating a trap, which prevents them from running away.
The contraption also allows police officers to do their duty and maintain social distance when catching violators and possible patients.
Online reactions
The video was watched more than 8,000 times and garnered mixed reactions from social media users. Some tweeps called the invention an “excellent idea”, while others thought it was ineffective.
Tweep @ShekharsSharma1 posted: “Noble way to tackle. Every innovation is big.”
Twitter user @kumar_jyyani humorously wrote: “The long arm of the law?”
And tweep @AjayDuggal posted: “Good, it will help police men to be safer.”
Some users were weary of the invention and thought it might not be as effective on someone strongly resisting the police’s hold.
Tweep @Murali_Aiyer commented on the video and said: “@DgpChdPolice and @ssptfcchd What unique way? Looks like kids made something for playing with. Unless the suspect cooperates, this won't work.”
And tweep @ChittaPattnaik posted: “What in case of a person not cooperating with this approach?”
Many online users pointed out that this was not the first time a contraption like this was being used. Police officers in Nepal earlier made headlines for using a similar tong-like metal contraption to catch violators, while maintaining a safe distance from them.
India has a total of 26,917 confirmed cases and 5,914 recoveries from coronavirus. The pandemic has affected 2.9 million people around the world, with 203,000 deaths.
