Vijayawada: Amid the statewide lockdown and curfew on roads, one police officer from Andhra Pradesh was dashed by a speeding car in Vijayawada. The officer, Sridhar, received a head injury and was sent to hospital for treatment.
Cases of people roaming on roads despite strict restrictions were seen in AP as well as in other states.
By Tuesday, the police department registered 2,300 cases against violations of the lockdown and other norms in Andhra Pradesh.
The state police department, which had earlier closed borders with adjacent states, has now closed inter-district borders as a precautionary measure.
They established check posts in different areas to restrict public movement. People were allowed out to purchase essential commodities, milk, vegetables, medicines from 6 am to 9 am and Rythu Bazaars were flooded with shoppers.
When people continued to roam on the roads after 9 am the police installed pickets on highways across the state.
In Guntur city, police beat up citizens who were roaming on the roads. A video clip of police beating a person was circulated on social media platforms.
Police resorted to caning in Vinukonda, Nakerikallu, Piduguralla, Narasaraopet and other places in Guntur district.
In Tadepalli, where chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy lives, police intensified checks to stop people from roaming on the roads.
The police booked 20 cases against two-wheeler drivers, six cases against auto rickshaw drivers and warned that they will be arrested if they roam on the roads again.
With the district borders also closed from Tuesday, private transport was not allowed to ply and check posts were set up to implement the restrictions.
AP DGP Goutam Sawang appealed to the public to follow the restrictions to contain the spread of Covid-19.
