District administration officials across the state have started acting tough to ensure social distancing and enforce complete lockdown.

In Bijnor, vehicles of a former MP of Bharatiya Janata Party and a Samajwadi Party lawmaker were seized and cases were also registered against them.

As per reports, policemen on patrol duty intercepted a vehicle bearing the name plate of former BJP MP Omwati in Bijnor. On stopping the vehicle, they found that two of the leader’s supporters were using her name and the vehicle without any valid reason during the lockdown. Subsequently, the vehicle was seized.

Similarly, a jeep displaying the name plate of Samajwadi Party MLA Manoj Paras was also seized. The vehicle was being driven by Paras’ brother and was registered in the name of MLA’s wife Neelam Paras, a member of zila panchayat.

Interestingly, in both cases the occupants claimed that they were going to distribute food packets to the poor. When no such material was found in the vehicle, the officials took action.

The police have also cracked the whip against rumour-mongers over lockdown and coronavirus pandemic.

On Sunday, FIRs were registered against former students union chief of Allahabad University and Samajwadi Party leader Richa Singh and her three aides Neha, Akhilesh and Adnan, for posting inappropriate message on social media.

On Saturday, they informed people through a post that the government was providing buses to ferry them home on Sunday morning. This led to massive crowding at Civil Lines bus station in Prayagraj.

An FIR against Richa and three others were lodged at Colonelganj police station under Section 144 of the Indian Penal Code and IT Act.

In Hathras, an FIR was registered against two people at Kotwali police station for spreading rumours on coronavirus spread. They had posted a false message on the spread of virus in the district. Presently no COVID-19 positive case has been reported in Hathras.

Meanwhile in Balrampur, as many as 12,000 individuals who came from other states were being screened and quarantined at their homes to check the spread of coronavirus.

District Magistrate of Balrampur, Karuna Karunesh, said that Health department had been directed to screen individuals coming home from outside quarantine them.

The SDMs have also been directed to keep an eye on individuals arriving from outside the district.