Young couples held in Odisha capital for hanging out during COVID-19 lockdown

Bhubaneswar: At a time when the state Government is taking all possible steps to prevent spread of the highly-infectious coronavirus,   a bizarre incident has been reported in the capital city, where two young couples were detained by the Commissionerate Police for roaming outside flouting the lockdown norms.

According to reports, the Saheed Nagar Police caught two couples hanging out near a bridge at Tankapani Road here in the evening hours on Friday. Without wearing masks, the couples were found sitting closed to each other for long hours.

As they were  adults, police handed the two women over to their families on PR bond. However, the two youth were detained for violating the lockdown regulations. While two women are residents of Balianta area on the city outskirts, the detained duo belongs to Kedarpali slum area, said an official of Saheed Nagar police station.

Meanwhile, questions are being raised as to how the two girls could not get noticed while coming from Balianta area to Tankapani road amidst the strict enforcement of COVID-19 lockdown.