At a time when India is reeling under severe stress of a second wave of Covid-19 which has caused death and destruction all over, members of the Muslim community in Uttar Pradesh’s Badaun decided to go ahead with a massive funeral procession for their beloved cleric Abdul Hamid Mohammad Salimul Qadri, who died Sunday morning and was suffering from prolonged illness. Before the funeral, his body was kept at a mosque for public viewing. Local authorities said Qadri’s followers from different parts of Badaun and nearby districts reached Badaun city to pay their last respects.
As thousands of Muslims thronged the streets of old city area of Badaun district on Sunday in violation of Covid norms, videos of the extravagant procession which has now come to pose a major public health risk in Uttar Pradesh went viral on social media. An FIR has been filed against unidentified people by UP Police for violating Covid-19 protocols during the procession under Sections 188, 269 and 270 of the Indian Penal Code.
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/sC4fanQp19
— Kanwardeep singh (@KanwardeepsTOI) May 10, 2021
“We have lodged an FIR against unidentified people under sections of the Epidemic Act and started investigations. A team is watching the video of the funeral to identify people who attended it. Further action will be taken against them following identification,” said Sankalp Sharma, superintendent of police, Badaun. Liberal media outlets, on expected lines, decided to give the development a pass, and refrained from publishing long op-eds detailing how the funeral procession posed an unprecedented threat to public health and was most definitely a super spreader event.
Earlier, in another shocking incident, a huge crowd seemingly bereft of Covid norms had gathered at Charminar to indulge in Eid shopping which has put Hyderabad on the cusp of a Covid boom. Forget social distancing, in the video many people can be seen roaming without masks.
In recent news, the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) in Uttar Pradesh’s Aligarh has become a Covid-19 hotspot. In the past three weeks, at least 50 current and retired staff of the university are reported to have succumbed to Covid-19, giving rise to a wave of panic and uncertainty on the campus. The rise in cases and multiple deaths at AMU have been attributed to lack of an enthusiastic vaccination drive on the campus.
How and why the funeral procession at Badaun was allowed to take place remains a mystery. The UP Police must make sure that such large processions are not allowed in the entirety of the state by people who think they are above the law and have no respect or value for human life.