Bride, groom flee own wedding as Odisha cops raid venue for Covid rule violation

Early this month, Odisha Police had imposed a fine of ₹50,000 on organisers of a marriage function in Cuttack city for flouting Covid guidelines.

Published on: Jul 19, 2021, 11:21:23 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

Prefer HTon Google

Share via

Copy link

A bride and groom in Odisha’s Balasore district fled from their wedding on Sunday evening after police raided the venue over violation of Covid containment guidelines.

The Covid situation in Odisha continued to remain grim with 2000-2200 cases reported daily on an average. (Arvind Yadav/HT PHOTO/Representative use)

Police officials said acting on a tip-off, a team from Soro police station raided a wedding ceremony underway at Hotel Mangala Nilayam at NH-16 near Chhapulia chowk on Sunday evening with more than 200 attendees.

Inspector Madhumita Mohanty said the groom from West Bengal was in town to marry a local girl in violation of Covid guidelines set by the Odisha government. As soon as the police team reached the spot, the bride and groom fled the venue.

“We collected ₹3,000 from the hotel owner and ₹5,000 from the groom’s family for violation of Covid guidelines. Though the organisers had taken permission for the marriage, they were penalised for inviting more people than prescribed,” said the inspector. As per the Covid guidelines, not more than 25 persons are allowed to attend a marriage function.

Early this month, police in Cuttack city had imposed a fine of ₹50,000 on organisers of a marriage function for flouting Covid guidelines.

The Covid situation in Odisha continued to remain grim with 2000-2200 cases reported daily on an average and total casualties going past the 5,000 mark on Saturday. The government believes that the fresh infections in the state were mostly driven by hidden cases.

“There were many symptomatic individuals too who did not opt for Covid test, spreading infection in the process. The spread can be contained by identifying and isolating the hidden asymptomatic cases,” said Dr Bijay Mohapatra, director of health services. He said the state government had begun integrated surveillance for three months, which had led to detection of more than 1 lakh cases.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

Get the latest India News, breaking headlines and real-time updates from across the country. Stay informed about politics, government policies, crime, weather and major national developments.