Coronavirus Outbreak: 18 arrested in Noida, Greater Noida for defying lockdown, as authorities seal over 36 localities amid rising cases

Noida: Eighteen people were arrested across Noida and Greater Noida on Saturday for allegedly defying restrictions imposed due to the COVID-19 lockdown, police said. [caption id=“attachment_8186991” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational Image. AP[/caption] Gautam Buddh Nagar is among the 15 districts in Uttar Pradesh where coronavirus hotspots have been completely sealed off. “Four FIRs were registered on Saturday for lockdown violations and 18 people arrested. A total of 610 vehicles were checked across 200 barrier points in the district and challans issued to 189 of them, while another four were impounded,” the police said in a statement. The FIRs were registered under Indian Penal Code section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) over violation of prohibitory orders put in place under CrPC Section 144, which bars assembly of four or more persons, they said. Over three dozen localities have been completely sealed off across Noida and Greater Noida due to the COVID-19 outbreak, with the police now stepping up further the vigilance on lockdown restrictions and ensuring action against violators, officials said. According to official police figures, over 2,330 people have been arrested for violating lockdown restrictions since 25 March in Gautam Buddh Nagar, which has so far recorded 64 positive cases of coronavirus, the second highest in UP after Agra.