Rishikesh, one of the famous tourist destinations in India, witnessed a strange incident on Sunday (April 12, 2020) where around ten foreigners were made to write "I'm so sorry" over 500 times by the Uttrakhand police.
The foreigners belonging from different nationalities were held roaming around in the city amid the coronavirus COVID-19 lockdown in the country.
The tourists mostly from Australia, Israel, Mexico, and Austria were made to write "I did not follow the rules of lockdown so I am so sorry" 500 times, as told by the police officer, Vinod Sharma.
Sharma said, "the unusual punishment was handed out to teach them a lesson."
Police said they would instruct the hotel owners to allow foreigner occupants to step out only if accompanied by local helpers.
Owners not following the orders could face legal action, Sharma added.
A total of 93 cases were registered on Sunday for violating the lockdown in the state while 274 people have been arrested, police said.
Till now, a total of 1,401 cases have been registered and 5,539 people have been arrested in the state for not following the lockdown orders.
According to Uttarakhand Police, a total of 15,541 motor vehicles have been challaned and 4,030 vehicles have been seized till now under the MV Act, said the Media Cell of the Uttarakhand Police. Fine of Rs 73.22 lakh has been recovered from the offenders, police said.
A 21-day long nationwide lockdown was announced by PM Modi on March 24 to combat the coronavirus pandemic.
The Uttarakhand Health Department on Sunday said that no new confirmed coronavirus case in the state was reported for the fourth consecutive day.
The total number of positive cases in the state stayed at 35 with zero death.
According to the MoFHW as on Sunday 5 PM IST, India has reported around 8,447 positive coronavirus cases and over 273 people have succumbed to the fatal virus that initiated from China in late December 2019,
