COVID-19: Indore cops adopt 'ghost' drive to keep people home

The police in Madhya Pradesh's Indore city on Friday adopted a unique approach to stop people from violating the COVID-19 lockdown, by using "ghosts" to scare them into staying indoors. The Vijay Nagar police enlisted the help of some social workers, who donned black masks and attires with images of lungs, and walked around slums and crowded colonies to frighten residents into staying home, an official said.

The police filmed the "ghost" drive and posted videos of it on social media. "We have formed a special group of six social workers, who are reaching out to people living in slums and educating them about COVID-19," the official said.

Volunteers disguised as ghosts scare those who loiter on roads during the curfew to warn them that if they step out, coronavirus will possess them, he said. At least 89 people have tested positive for coronavirus in Indore, of which five have succumbed to the infection.

A curfew has been in place in Indore since March 25, and the state's business capital, which teemed with people 15 days ago, now resembles a ghost town..

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