BJP Leader Among 20 Persons Booked For Organising Cricket Match Amid Coronavirus Lockdown In UP

As coronavirus lockdown continues in India, at least 20 persons, including a BJP leader, were booked for flouting rules and organising a cricket match in Barabanki district of Uttar Pradesh.

Representational Image/PTI

According to a report in India Today, police received a tip-off that a cricket match was being playing amid lockdown that has been put in place to contain the spread of coronavirus. The incident took place at Panapur village in Tikaitnagar area in Barabanki district.

¡°A cricket match was organised in violation of lockdown rules by gathering over 20 people. After our control room received the information, the police reached the village and stopped the cricket match,¡± Barabanki SP Arvind Chaturvedi was quoted as saying by India Today.

Representational Image/Agencies

It was reported that a local BJP leader Sudhir Singh has been booked for organising the cricket match and violating lockdown norms.

An FIR under Sections 269 (negligent act likely to spread infection of any disease) and 188 (disobeying regulation) of the Epidemic Act has been lodged against local BJP leader Sudhir Singh, members of his family and some other people from the village.

Barabanki is among 11 districts in UP which have been declared COVID-19 free with no active case at present. However, the district authorities are taking no chances and are determined to restrict people from wandering around unnecessarily.

Reuters

As of yesterday, the state had recorded a total of 1412 cases of coronavirus. The state Principal Secretary, Medical and Health, Amit Mohan, revealed that 10 districts are COVID-19 free.

These districts are Pilibhit, Lakhimpur Khiri, Hathras, Bareilly, Prayagraj, Maharajganj, Shahjahanpur, Barabanki, Hardoi and Kaushambi.