Sec 144 extended in city till April 15

Earlier, the Commissioner had ordered it till 6 am on April 1 after the State government decided to go for a week-long lockdown from 6 pm on March 24 to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

However, within hours, PM Modi announced a nationwide 21-day lockdown to prevent the community spreading of the pandemic.

The order prohibits the assembling of five or more persons and also puts in place other restrictions imposed by the Health Department to fight COVID-19. Any persons contravening the order would be subjected to prosecution under the Indian Penal Code, said the Commissioner in a communique to the press.

Meanwhile, the number of violations of prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CrPC crossed 40,000 as the nationwide lockdown entered the second week. Until March 31, the number of violations recorded across the state stood at 39,124 and the number of cases registered was at 34,178. While 38,387 persons were breaching the prohibitory orders, 28,040 vehicles were seized from violators. In total, Rs 14,47,944 was collected as penalty from violators, said a release.

In the city, 302 cases of violations were booked overnight from 6 pm on Tuesday to 6 am on Wednesday.