Clip to Scare Lockdown Violators in Tamil Nadu Opens Debate on Stigma Around Coronavirus

Chennai: A promotional video from the Tiruppur police department in Tamil Nadu to instil fear among lockdown violators drew criticism for reinforcing stigma around coronavirus and misusing the services of an ambulance.

The short clip that has been also been praised by a lot of people has become a matter of debate on social media. The video shows three young men riding a two-wheeler without any safety masks being pulled up by police personnel.

They are soon dragged into an ambulance where a man is seen lying on a stretcher. In the times of pandemic, it is assumed he is a coronavirus patient.

Soon after, these men try to escape from the ambulance, including trying to jump out of a video in apparent fear of contracting the dreaded disease from the patient.

The video had all the regular props, including sounds of bells and whistles and popular dialogues of comedian Vadivelu along with a background score.

While it was obvious that the police department wanted to convey a message in a popular format to the youth, it does seem to be trampling upon certain sensibilities.

After some criticism, the district collector said the feedback has been sent to the department concerned.

Collector Vijayakarthikeyan K said, "The superintendent of police has clarified that it was not to stigmatise, but to make people understand the difficult scenario."

The district police has been active on social media putting out videos to create awareness on COVID-19 pandemic.