Lucknow: Police in Uttar Pradesh’s Budaun district have formed a three-member team to investigate how thousands gathered on the streets Sunday, in violation of Covid protocol, for Muslim cleric Abdul Hamid Mohammad Salimul Qadri’s funeral procession.
A purported video of the procession, which has gone viral, shows several participants without face masks and flouting social distancing norms.
Despite Covid threat, thousands of people gathered during the funeral of Zila Qazi in UP's Budaun district. Most of the people were not wearing masks. @Uppolice have registered an FIR on Monday. @Benarasiyaa pic.twitter.com/NLe3mdOH5J
— R. Ranjan (@Rashmi_R89) May 11, 2021
Police have filed an FIR against unknown persons in the matter, invoking Section 188 (disobedience of order duly promulgated by public servant) of the IPC and Section 144 (limiting the number of people that can gather at one place) of the CrPC, among others.
“A team has been constituted under the additional superintendent of police (SP) to investigate the matter,” Budaun Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Sankalp Sharma said. “We will take action against all those found guilty. The initial enquiry has revealed that it was not any individual’s call to gather thousands of people there.”
At present, Budaun has 2,928 active Covid cases, with 80 deaths reported so far.
A local resident who witnessed the procession said several places had been left unbarricaded Sunday, adding that the district authorities were probably aware that Qadri’s demise would draw huge crowds.
“If the administration had managed this earlier, such a thing would not have happened. Now this could lead to a rise in Covid cases,” the resident added.
The SSP said police “tried to stop them in several spots”. “The (investigation) team will question these policemen on why such gatherings have not been stopped. A case has been registered already.”
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Watching video for clues
A UP Police officer said Qadri, a prominent Budaun cleric, died Sunday morning after prolonged illness. Before the funeral, his body was kept at a mosque for public viewing. As news of his death spread, Qadri’s followers from different parts of Budaun and nearby districts reached.
“Visuals showed a thousands-strong crowd passing through the streets of Budaun. Many people were without masks and in close proximity with each other. The video had gone viral on social media,” the officer added.
A second officer said the team “is watching the video of the funeral to identify people who attended it”.
“We will investigate it more and soon action will be taken. It being a religious matter and a funeral, police maintained restraint. But a case has now been registered,” the officer added.
(Edited by Sunanda Ranjan)
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