Defying the Covid-19 lockdown, a self-styled godwoman, Maa Adi Shakti, refused to call off a religious gathering and brandished a sword when police personnel rushed to the site in the Mehwa Pudwa area of Deoria district in eastern Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday morning, the police said.
The so-called godwoman and 12 others were arrested after the incident, the police added.
The religious gathering was convened to mark the nine-day Chaitra Navratri festival, which began on Wednesday.
Deoria superintendent of police Sripat Mishra said, “In the morning, we received a tip-off that a religious gathering was underway for Navratri and some people were doing faith healing there.”
“On reaching the spot, the police appealed to the crowd to return home, telling them that Section 144 (of the CrPC) was in force across the state. But the self-styled godwoman became aggressive,” he said.
“She refused to call off the gathering and started brandishing a sword to stop the police. The police then used force to disperse the crowd and arrested 13 people, including the woman and her husband. FIRs (first information reports) under relevant sections have been lodged against all of them and they will be sent to jail,” Mishra added.