Tourists violating India lockdown given bizarre punishment
Indian police have come up with a novel way to punish tourists violating the nationwide lockdown.
It is treating them like naughty schoolchildren.
Ten tourists were caught breaking the lockdown and were forced to write ‘I am sorry’ 500 times as penance.
The tourists are from Israel, Mexico, Australia and Austria.
They were caught in the town of Rishikesh, made famous by the Beatles in the late 1960s.
According to local police officer Vinod Sharma, they were ordered to write ‘I did not follow the rules of lockdown so I am so sorry’ 500 times.
Local police say more than 700 tourists have violated the lockdown.
During the lockdown the country’s 1.2 billion population are only allowed out to buy essential supplies.
According to local media, other unique punishments meted out to residents have included being forced to do army drill style squats by the roadside.
Foreign tourists must now be accompanied by helpers designated by their hotel.
Failure to do so could lead to fines for hotels.
Indian PM Narindra Modi has now extended the lockdown until May 3.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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