Thousands breach COVID norms at cleric's funeral in UP
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Uttar Pradesh: Thousands gathered at the funeral of a Muslim cleric in Uttar Pradesh's Badaun, raising fear of a super-spreader in the state. People were seen crammed in the funeral procession, violating all COVID safety norms, according to the NDTV report.
Soon after visuals of the funeral went viral on social media, the UP police began an investigation into the event after filing a First Information Report (FIR) on Monday.
The cleric, Abdul Hamid Mohammad Salimul Qadri, died on Sunday afternoon.
Within hours of the cleric's demise, the place was crowded to the brim and facemasks were rarely spotted in the visuals. Social distancing seemed out of the question, thanks to the crowd. The state police launched an investigation into the incident after filing an FIR on Monday.
The Badaun police told NDTV that cases had been filed against unknown people under the Epidemics Act. They added that they are checking the footage to gather evidence, and strict action will be taken against those found violating the instructions.
The state government had restricted funeral attendance to 20 people. The penalty for not wearing a mask is Rs 1,000 and Rs 10,000 if repeated.
The whole incident has led the administration to fear a super-spreader as Uttar Pradesh is still deep in the pandemic spiral. Though positive cases per day stay above 20,000, the state saw a slight dip in cases in recent days.
(based on NDTV news)
