The Mumbai Police said a crowd that had gathered defying lockdown attacked a team of officers in Shivaji Nagar area on Sunday, Hindustan Times reported. Four people have been detained following the episode.

The attack took place on Sunday evening after the police reached the area following an alert about the crowd roaming on the streets in violation of the lockdown norms. “A 30-member strong crowd, including two women, had gathered at the intersection, flouting lockdown restrictions,” Senior Inspector Sudarshan Paithankar said. “They pelted stones at the police personnel and also shouted slogans against them.” The mob reportedly damaged a police vehicle.

One of the police officers has suffered hand injuries in the attack. “A man from the crowd attacked a police inspector with an iron rod,” Paithankar said. “Though he managed to deflect the attack aimed at his head, he sustained injuries in his right hand.”

With over 8,000 Covid-19 cases and 342 deaths, Maharashtra is the worst-hit state in India. Mumbai has reported over 5,000 cases.

There have been several instances of attacks on police officers and frontline health workers in the country. Earlier this month, 11 people were arrested in Punjab after an incident led to an official’s hand getting chopped off in Patiala city. In Uttar Pradesh, a team of doctors, health workers and the police team escorting them were attacked while they were shifting the family members of a Covid-19 patient to a quarantine facility.

Last week, the Centre had approved amendments to the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 to make attacks on healthcare professionals non-bailable offences that will carry an imprisonment from six months to seven years.

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