Karnataka: Police Swings Into Action After Hundreds Violate Lockdown To Take Out Chariot Procession

The police in Karnataka’s Kalaburagi have rounded up a few people in Ravoor village for violating the Covid-19 induced lockdown measures to take out a chariot procession on Thursday morning (16 April), an official said.

"We have held some people and we are inquiring them. We are enquiring as to who is exactly responsible for this," Kalaburagi Superintendent of Police Lada Martin told IANS over phone.

Kalaburagi is 575 km north of Bengaluru.

According to Martin, more than 100 villagers took out the Siddhalingeshwara chariot procession on Thursday morning despite an earlier police warning.

A video of the incident was also shared by journalists.

"Few days back, in view of this issue, the PSI (police officer) had called for a meeting of these people, and in the meeting he had warned them not to conduct any such kind of mass gathering because of the coronavirus outbreak," Martin said.

He said the villagers agreed with the policeman that they will not take out the procession, yet they took it out.

"In that meeting, they had all agreed. And they had said that they won't conduct any function. But today (Thursday) morning, they went ahead and conducted the function," Martin pointed out.

The police registered a case in Wadi and took action against the PSI, even as an arrest is yet to occur, considering the case is still in the inquiry stage.

Martin said that all the participants belonged to the village itself, ruling out the entry of outsiders.

"I can''t give you the numbers. We have done some enquiries on some people. Let's see what happens," Martin said when asked how many people were rounded up.

With Inputs From IANS