New Delhi, April 1: Police in Noida on Wednesday arrested a man who had dressed up as a doctor to bypass the nationwide lockdown imposed in view of the coronavirus outbreak. The accused, identified as Ashutosh Sharma, was found roaming casually near Sector 35 in Noida wearing the full medical detail. Seeing a "doctor" walking around coolly, a patrolling officer asked him a few questions and the truth came out shortly. Man Fakes His Death in Jammu and Kashmir, Travels in Ambulance to Reach Home in Poonch Amid Coronavirus Lockdown.
According to police, Sharma had decided to dress up as a doctor to thwart the lockdown. He was walking on streets wearing a lab coat, white gloves and a surgical mask. When he was stopped and asked, he initially claimed to be a doctor. Sharma started mumbling when the officers pressed him further and soon admitted that he was not a doctor. Subsequently, he was arrested and booked for violating the lockdown under relevant sections. Coronavirus in India: Live Map.
This is a second such incident where a person tried to fake his identity to escape the lockdown. On Tuesday, a 60-year-old man from Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district attempted to fake his death so that he and his friends could reach home. Their plan was foiled when a police party recorded their temperature and found him to be alive. All the five people, including the ambulance driver, were booked and sent to a quarantine facility.
Hakam Din was admitted to Government Medical College in Jammu after suffering a head injury during a fight on March 27. After he was discharged on March 30, he along with three other friends plotted to fake his death and reach their homes in Poonch. Din managed to get a death certificate and he, along with his friends which included an ambulance driver, began their journey to Bufliaz, around 220 kms from on Tuesday.
Din, a resident of Sailian village, ran out of luck just a few kilometres from his residence when a police party intercepted the ambulance coming from Jammu at Bufliaz and subjected the occupants to screening for coronavirus and were shocked to find the "dead person" alive, officials said.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 01, 2020 10:05 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).