Police across the South Asian country have found a variety of ways to publicly punish people breaking its strict coronavirus lockdown — making them do squats, push-ups and sit-ups in the street.
“Think before you step out during lockdown,” one Indian tweeted along with a video of cops in Andhra Pradesh making people do sit-ups, according to the Economic Times.
Other forces across the nation have also turned to similar punishments to “fit” the crime — with photos showing people in India’s largest city, Mumbai, forced to exercise as cops stand over them.
They got off easy compared to other lockdown-breakers, however — with other footage showing police flogging some with canes as they insist they go home and abide by the quarantines.
In the northern city of Meerut, people have been made to hold up signs reading, “I am a friend of coronavirus” or “I am the enemy of society” — with the images posted online to shame them.
Other signs have read, “I do not believe in the law of the country” and “I do not care about my family or society” — with people seen laughing at them as they stand in the street.
India enforced a lockdown for its population of more than 1.3 billion on March 24. Some districts have even stamped the hands of those supposed to be in quarantine.
As of Tuesday, there had been 1,251 confirmed cases and 32 deaths — but health experts fear the spread could be far worse because few tests have been made available.
Health experts have been watching with increasing alarm as the nation — the second-most populous after China — grapples with trying to effectively observe physical distancing, particularly in its slums.