Turning a deaf ear to the lockdown restrictions that have been imposed in the country to curb the spread of coronavirus, around a hundred people gathered in Karnataka’s Kalaburagi district on Thursday, 16 April, to take out a chariot procession. Kalaburagi has been identified as a COVID-19 hotspot.
The gathering was part of the Siddalingeshwara fair, which is associated with a chariot festival that is held in Chittapur during this time of the year. A few videos from the event have gone viral on social media, showing people violating the social distancing norms by pulling a five-storey chariot. Many even walked along with the chariot.
“At 6:30 am on Thursday, around 100 people had taken part in the chariot procession that is part of the Siddalingeshwara fair”, Superintendent of Police Lada Martin told news agency ANI.
A case has been registered against 20 people and the temple management under Sections 188, 143, 269 of the Indian Penal Code. Five organisers of the Siddalingeshwara fair have been arrested for violating the lockdown, reported TOI.
A sub-inspector attached to Wardi police station has been suspended. The district administration has also suspended the Chittapur Child Development Project Officer Rajkumar Rathod, who was the designated sectoral magistrate in charge of surveillance in the area, reported The News Minute.
The temple authorities had allegedly given a written commitment a few days ago, stating they would not organise the event this year, according to News18.
Kalaburagi is one of the districts in Karnataka with a high number of COVID-19 cases. Till Thursday, it had reported 20 cases, the fourth-highest among all districts and also reported three deaths. Among the 20 patients, 14 are currently undergoing treatment.
The first COVID-19 death in India was from Kalaburagi.
(With inputs from ANI and The News Minute)
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