Lockdown: What Kind of Punishment Is Being Meted Out to Those Arrested for Violating the Curb?

On Wednesday, the commissioner of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police said that 'strict' measures would be taken if anyone left the house without an urgent need for a week from July 1.

Thousands of people across the country have been punished for breaking the rules since the new ban was imposed in Bangladesh, law enforcement said. Officials say the accused are being punished in most cases with fines and imprisonment.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Dhaka Metropolitan Police Commissioner had said that 'strict' measures would be taken if one left the house without an urgent need from July 1.

(Photo: Collected)

Since the lockdown began on Thursday, law enforcement has been conducting raids against people who have left their homes for unreasonable reasons.

On the fourth day of the lockdown, 617 people were arrested from the Dhaka metropolitan area for violating the ban.

In all, the Dhaka Metropolitan Police has detained 1,909 people from the Dhaka metropolis alone for not complying with the ban in the first four days of the lockdown.

In addition, the owners of more than a thousand vehicles have been fined under the Motor Vehicles Ordinance in these four days, and several vehicles have been seized.

The local administration has punished many people like jail-fines for violating the rules in different districts outside Dhaka.

'Most of the convicts are low-income people'

The lion's share of those who have been prosecuted for violating the ban are low-income people, says Ratan Mia, a lower court lawyer.

He said most of the people were being arrested under sections 69, 75, 77 or 78 of the DMP ordinance. 

These sections include imprisonment and fines for 'selling goods against the ban', 'misbehaving in public', 'harassing pedestrians on the streets' and 'misconduct for disturbing the peace'

Lawyer Ratan Mia said, "Most of the convicts in the last few days are day laborers, tea shopkeepers, vegetable sellers "  

"Many of them said they had to leave their homes due to their empty stomach. Some complained that the police detained them even after they conducted business activities in compliance with hygiene rules."

Iftekhairul Islam, additional deputy commissioner of the media and public relations department of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police, however, does not think that low-income people are suffering more from police arrests.

Mr. Islam said, "Even today, more than 100 cars have been fined in Dhaka. If only the low-income people had suffered, so many private cars would not have been fined."

He said that all the people who left the house without proper reason are being punished by the law enforcement agencies.

Punishments if the Detainees 

Mr Mia said many people who had been roaming the lockdown for unreasonable reasons had also come to court under police punishment.

Relatives of the detainees crowded the court premises in the last few days, which was more crowded than usual.

Police official Iftekhairul Islam said, "Those arrested are being punished under Section 269 of the Criminal Procedure Code or the DMP Ordinance."

Article 269 of the Penal Code states, "Anyone who engages in any act of unlawful or negligent conduct which may lead to the spread of a life-threatening disease may be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or to a fine or both."

Under the DMP Ordinance, under which the accused are being prosecuted, the maximum penalty is 3 months imprisonment and a fine of two to five hundred taka.

Many of the detainees are being fined by the executive magistrates present at the scene, in which case the accused do not have to appear in court most of the time. 

Mr Islam said: "If the executive magistrate is present, it is possible to release the person on the spot by imposing a fine. Otherwise, we will arrest the accused and send him to court. The court later decided that he would be released on bond, not fined or sent to jail."

Lawyer Ratan Mia said most of the detainees were being fined after being produced in court. And they are being released immediately after paying the fine.

"Very few people have been sent to jail for non-payment of fines. The accused are being released from the court after paying the fines," he said.

 * The writer works at BBC Bangla 

    Source: BBC Bangla