Elderly man forced into cruel punishment for breaching lockdown restrictions

Police in India have allegedly forced an elderly man to do squats as punishment for breaching coronavirus lockdown restrictions.

The 71-year-old man was reportedly forced to perform the exercise after opening his vegetable store in the Madhya Pradesh district of Betul, Central India, the Times of India reports.

Video shows the victim in white shorts and a shirt. He squats several times with his hands behind his head.

He is accompanied by a younger man, in black trousers and a white shirt, who appears to place his hands on his knees as he struggles to get up.

Three men wearing facemasks, including one in a police uniform and another with a lanyard around his neck, watch on as the pair struggle through the punishment.

In response to the video, a senior police officer said the ranger should not have acted the way he did, according to the Times of India.

Other reports have emerged of civilians forced to do sit ups, squats and the "Murga" since the country enforced lockdown restrictions on March 25 in response to the Coronavirus crisis.

The "Murga" is a form of corporal punishment used in India as punishment for petty crime – the punished person squats and then loops their arms behind their knees whilst firmly holding their ears.

Public shame exercises in response to lockdown measures have since been captured in Mumbai, Amritsar, New Delhi and Kolkata.

India's coronavirus death toll has reached over 2,200. The nation has recorded more than 70,000 cases.