Nagpur (Maharashtra),  It was almost like attending a wedding procession for Nagpur Police personnel, officials said here on Tuesday.

A team of tough officers led by Deputy Commissioner of Police Vinita S., Assistant Commissioner of Police Rekha Bhavre and Senior Police Inspector Sunil Gangurde had a pleasant surprise during an 'awareness march' in a thickly-populated Gittikhadan area of the city.

As a team of nearly 75 officers and policemen including five women, besides RAF and SRPF marched to create awareness of staying at home and maintaining social distancing, many people from the area showered flowers on them, said Nagpur Police Commissioner Dr. B.K. Upadhyay.

"It was our third such 2-hour long Covid-19 awareness march yesterday in our zone through Gittikhadan which has a mixed and largely middle-class population, now under lockdown," Gangurde told IANS.

There were more surprises -- in some areas people cheered loudly and clapped the uniformed Warriors Against Virus, others raised slogans of 'police zindabad', and of course some showered flowers on the police personnel.

Not forgetting her own people, DCP Vinita also took a detour to visit the Police Colony, interacted with the family members of the police personnel and expressed gratitude for their unstinted support which helped the policemen discharge their duties in the field, raising their morale.

"It was a very overwhelming experience. My team members said they have never witnessed something like this in their entire careers. The War Against Corona has certainly brought police and public closer in these tough times," said Upadhyay.

With 17 cases, Nagpur is among the less serious hotspots in Maharashtra which ranks the highest in Covid-19 deaths and positive cases so far.