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116 booked for violating Covid norms during Shah rally: Police to HC
Bengaluru: The Belagavi police on Thursday told the Karnataka high court that 116 people have been booked for violating Covid-19 norms during a rally led by union home minister Amit Shah on January 17
Bengaluru: The Belagavi police on Thursday told the Karnataka high court that 116 people have been booked for violating Covid-19 norms during a rally led by union home minister Amit Shah on January 17.
The report comes after the HC, on June 18, pulled up the Belagavi police commissioner over the First Information Report (FIR) filed regarding a violation of Covid-19 norms during Shah’s rally. The court questioned why the Belagavi police had named only six persons in the FIR and questioned why a thousand others, (including Shah) were not booked.
Following this, the bench had directed the officer in-charge of the APMC yard police station at Belagavi city to file the investigation report carried out in a sealed cover by July 19.
“On what basis the commissioner has made a statement that only six persons were there at the rally who were not wearing masks? In the rally of thousands, he is bold to say only six persons were not wearing masks. Can anyone believe this?” asked a division bench of Chief Justice Abhay Oka and Justice Suraj Govindaraj on June 18.
The comments came after advocate general Prabhuling K Navadgi said that Belagavi police have filed an FIR in the case regarding the violation of Covid norms during the rally at Belagavi on January 17.
The FIR was filed after the HC had pulled by Belagavi police on May 25 for failing to register a case against BJP leaders in connection with a rally that was held in the city in January where Covid-19 protocols were flouted.
At the rally, held in the run-up to the Lok Sabha by-election to the Belagavi seat, Covid protocols were flouted with people not even wearing masks or maintaining social distance. During the hearing, the commissioner had filed an affidavit stating that only fines were collected from certain persons for violation and no FIR was registered.
Dissatisfied with this response, the court had observed: “Reading the affidavit as a whole, we find that the commissioner approached the matter very casually. The large gathering took place in Belagavi where rules regarding the wearing masks and social distancing were thrown to the wind. But the commissioner seems to be satisfied with the recovery of the fine amount.”
