AHMEDABAD:

police on Tuesday indicated that they will brook no alterations to the list of essentials.

They booked a 40-year-old grocer for defying the lockdown by opening his shop to stitch a blouse for a woman customer. When caught by police, he claimed that he had tailored his operation for a sewing assignment because the woman was pressuring him to make the blouse.

According to an FIR filed with Santej police, a team of cops was patrolling in Nandoli village in Kalol taluka of Gandhinagar when they found Meldi Kirana Store open.

When the cops entered the shop, they found the man focused on couture rather than kirana.

They booked him under IPC Section 188 for defying a notification issued by the district collector and seized the cloth as muddamal (article relating to crime).

The FIR states that the government has recently ordered a lockdown to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. In such a situation, shops which provide essential goods like groceries and milk can Punit Kalawadia be allowed to function.

“The patrolling team became suspicious when it noted that the shop had no customers,” said a cop.

‘Booked for a stitch-up’

For his part, the aspiring tailor told TOI that the offense is only a stitch-up.

“A woman customer was pressuring me for quite some time to make her the blouse. The job was nearly done,” he said. “So, on Tuesday, I had gone to my shop and was giving final touches to that blouse when the cops barged into my shop.”

He said that he along with the sarpanch of the Nandoli village tried to persuade the cops that no law had been broken. But he said sub-inspector of Santej police, M A Joshi, himself became the complainant and lodged the FIR.