Dehradun: Uttarakhand Police has booked 211 people for allegedly spreading rumours about the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic on social media and another 1.53 lakh people have been pulled up for not wearing masks across the hill state amid the viral outbreak.
The figures pertain from March 22, the day the lockdown restrictions were enforced in Uttarakhand, to July 31.
Of the 211 people booked, the maximum (57) were from Nainital district, followed by 26 each in Udham Singh Nagar and Haridwar and Almora (26) districts.
Earlier, Uttarakhand Police had warned of strict action against spreading rumours about Covid-19 on social media. Some of the accused have been booked under the National Security Act (NSA), 1980, for creating law and order disturbance in the state.
Most of the offenders for not wearing masks have been found in Dehradun (61,381), Haridwar (21,243) and Udham Singh Nagar (15,662) districts.
Another 16,616 people were booked for not maintaining social distancing norms during the lockdown restrictions, including in Tehri Garhwal (3,284), Haridwar (2702) and Dehradun (2,430) districts.
Similarly, 4,545 and 838 people were booked for the violation of lockdown and quarantine protocols, respectively.
“The figures are of the action taken by us to ensure strict implementation of the lockdown restrictions and Covid-19 norms are followed by the public,” said Ashok Kumar, director-general (law & order), Uttarakhand Police.

“We will continue to take action against anyone found violating the norms. It is necessary to curb the spread of the pandemic in the state,” he added.
Sources: Hindustan Times
