NEW DELHI: Delhi Police on Sunday decided to deal with the lockdown violators quite differently. They refrained from challaning people for the violations for a day, and instead asked them to recite a pledge to obey rules and gave them flowers.

Police commissioner S N Shrivastava also tweeted about the drive. “#COVIDPROSECUTION For a change, a non-coercive mode is adopted today. The emphasis is on educating violators and utilising them too in furthering awareness among the residents. Policemen are encouraged into adopting effective alternate means instead of challan @LtGovDelhi,” he wrote.

The initiative was first adopted in southwest Delhi by DCP Ingit Pratap Singh and his team. During the day, the cops were seen greeting violators with roses. “On Sunday, lockdown violators were themselves sensitising others not to violate the lockdown in the interest of society. We gave them flowers and placards for awareness,” PRO Chinmoy Biswal said.

Meanwhile, Delhi Police continued its crackdown on crooks duping people on the pretext of providing Covid-related help. A gang that cheated people by promising medicine for treatment of black fungus has been busted by the Shahdara police.

To check criminals involved in black marketing of essential Covid drugs, a cheat falsely promising Amphotericin B for treatment of black fungus has been arrested, the Shahdara DCP said. “The team recovered two mobile phones used in the commission of the offence,” the DCP said.

SHO Shivraj Singh Bisht had received a complaint from a woman informing that her brother-in-law was admitted to Sir Ganga Ram Hospital for treatment of black fungus. On May 21, the doctor prescribed a medicine named Lipsomal Amphoperecin B, which was not available in the market.

She had contacted a number circulating on social media and WhatsApp and a man assured that he would provide her the prescribed medicine and demanded Rs 3,000 as advance. The money was transferred on his Paytm account but he neither sent her the required medicine nor returned the money.

During investigation, the subscription detail of the mobile number was collected, screenshots of the transaction were analysed and intelligence was developed. Later, Prashant Sharma, a driver, was arrested from Ghaziabad. The cops are looking for his associates.