Steel city police on Tuesday launched a crackdown on commuters venturing out without e-passes amid the lockdown.

People moving in cars, bikes and scooters were stopped at various check-points in Sakchi, Bistupur, Jugsalai, Sonari and Kadma and were asked to produce e-passes. Those who were unable to produce e-passes ended up paying a fine of Rs 500.

Notably, in a recent order by the State Department of Home, Jail and Disaster Management, residents of the state will have to procure e-passes to go out of their homes to buy essential commodities till May 27. The passes will be valid for three hours from the issuing time.

Morning walkers were also not spared. Around 80 of them were rounded up from Bistupur and Kadma-Sonari Link Road .

Police asked morning walkers to board a bus which later brought them to the campus of Motilal Nehru Public School in Bistupur.

All of them were later released after warnings and signing of PR ( Personal Recognisance ) bonds.

Naresh Paswan, a sub-inspector of Bistupur police station said the drive was launched early in the morning.

"The lockdown was imposed for breaking the Covid chain. If people come out of their homes without valid reasons or without urgency, the purpose of the lockdown is defeated, " he said.

The Jharkhand government on Sunday imposed restrictions on the movement of vehicles and people within the state to stop the chain of Covid-19 transmission and issued e-passes for people who need to travel for emergency purposes.

On the first day of the curbs, which will continue till May 27, the government's online portal that issues the e-passes crashed owing to heavy traffic.

The technical glitches are now fixed and it's working fine.