Hundreds booked for violating lockdown restrictions; govt ramps up measures for essential items supply

Hundreds of people across the country were booked and penalised for violating restrictions on the second day of the national lockdown on Thursday and drones were deployed to send out a warning, as authorities ramped up measures to ensure there was no supply disruption of essential commodities.

The unprecedented 21-day lockdown also had a tragic fallout when a 28-year-old man allegedly killed his younger brother for stepping out of their home in Mumbai's western suburb of Kandivali.

Police said Rajesh Laxmi Thakur killed his younger brother Durgesh after the latter stepped out of the house despite repeated warnings about the lockdown on Wednesday night, an official from Samta Nagar police station said. The official said Rajesh has been arrested.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had made a fervent appeal to the countrymen on Tuesday night not to cross the 'lakshman rekha' of their homes in the next three weeks to make the lockdown a success in a bid to halt the spread of coronavirus.

According to the Union Health ministry data, 16 people have died of COVID-19 and the number of new cases rose by 80 taking the total to 694.

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs came out with a Standard Operating Procedure(SOP) on Thursday night for maintaining supply and availability of essential commodities during the lockdown period