Even after the count of coronavirus cases has climbed to 4,426 in Madhya Pradesh and the death toll has reached 237, some people have thought themselves to be completely immune to catching the virus and engaged in completely disregarding all safety rules to curb the coronavirus transmission.
On Tuesday this week, flouting all social distancing norms, hundreds of people thronged to the street in the Madhya Pradesh’s Sagar district to celebrate the arrival of Jain monk Muni Pranam Sagar and his group who reached the town of Banda, about 35 kms away from the district headquarters, cited various media reports.
This is what happened when a Jain monk and his group arrived in Banda, MP. ? pic.twitter.com/lQeKse7rBQ
— Brut India (@BrutIndia) May 14, 2020
The video of the incident quickly went viral on social media with people outraging over the blatant negligence of lockdown norms. Additional Superintendent Praveen Bhuria told PTI on Wednesday that they had taken cognisance of the incident from the videos shared on social media.
He said, “This seems to be a case of violation of preventive orders issued under the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) Section 144. Directives have been issued to Banda police station officials to register a case after verification of the videos.”
The Banda police station in-charge said they would be filing a case against 400 – 500 unidentified people for the violation of preventive orders issued during the lockdown.
The silence of Shivraj Singh Chouhan
Ironically, the incident that took place in Banda, happened on the same day as the PM Narendra Modi’s appeared on national television to speak about the extension of the lockdown in the wake of increasing cases. He has earlier cried hoarse and appeal the people to follow social distancing norms to the t in order to avoid the transmission of the virus.
However, the state’s chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who also belongs to the ruling party, totally ignored deploring the gathering, but definitely had a lot to say about violence that took place elsewhere, accusing the CM of that state being inefficient in dealing with the crisis.
Not the only incident that didn’t catch media attention
A large gathering of people took place at the Kolagondanahalli village in Karnataka. According to an update by ANI, the villagers had taken permission for a village fair from the Panchayat Development Officer NC Kalmatt. Kalmatt was reportedly suspended by Ramanagara Dy Commissioner after the tehsildar reported the matter.
People gathered in large numbers in Kolagondanahalli village of Karnataka’s Ramanagara for a local fair yesterday. They were given permission by Panchayat Development Officer NC Kalmatt, who was later suspended (ANI) pic.twitter.com/QLcLcIuBXT
— NDTV (@ndtv) May 15, 2020
In Uttarakhand, devotees broke social distancing norms and performed a special pooja at the Narsingh temple, Joshimath, on Wednesday, May 13, reported The Quint
#WATCH उत्तराखंड: बद्रीनाथ मंदिर के द्वार 15 मई को खुलेंगे।द्वार खुलेने से पहले भक्तों ने नरसिंह मंदिर(जोशीमठ) से बद्रीनाथ मंदिर तक जुलूस निकला। pic.twitter.com/Vzh1fbiZ6m
— ANI_HindiNews (@AHindinews) May 13, 2020
In Kanpur, violating the lockdown, thousands of followers of Baba Shobhan Sarkar gathered at the Arogya Dham Hospital at Sunauhra Ashram where he passed away to pay a tribute to him. Station House Officer Vinay Tiwari said that the police tried to stop the crowd from proceeding towards the ashram, but couldn’t do so. Now three FIRs have been registered against 4,000 people for flouting lockdown norms and attending the last rites of Sarkar despite gatherings been banned during funerals. What is more shocking is that according to a report by The Times of India, BJP MLA Surendra Maithani, Abhijeet Singh Sanga (BJP MLA Bithoor) and Neelima Katiyar (BJP MLA Kalyanpur) also visited the ashram to pay their tributes to the seer.
Shobhan sarkar, a sant living just outside kanpur. This is just one part of the crowd of devotees who collected for his funeral. Social distancing Made In India pic.twitter.com/JSJlurOGTJ
— Subhashini Ali (@SubhashiniAli) May 13, 2020
None of the leading media channels covered these incidences of flagrant breach of rules during their primetime shows even though they have earlier ripped off the Tablighi Jamaat members for weeks on end and continue to do so. Why the free pass for all these mistakes by the media and the higher-ups while they continue to blame the minorities for the rise of the coronavirus?
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Covid-19: Was Tablighi Jamaat event the only mass gathering leading up to the lockdown?
Tablighi Jamaat members still under the scanner
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BJP members target Tablighi Jamaat for spread of coronavirus