India News | Harish Rawat Booked for Violating COVID Guidelines

Haridwar, Aug 17 (PTI) A case has been registered against former Uttarakhand chief minister Harish Rawat, three Congress legislators and 150 others for allegedly violating coronavirus guidelines and holding a protest in Haridwar district, police said on Monday.

Rawat led a bullock cart rally from Dhandera to Landhaura near Roorkee on Independence Day to raise the issue of dilapidated condition of roads, especially NH-58 that links Uttarakhand with Delhi.

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He was accompanied by Bhagwanpur MLA Mamta Rakesh, Manglaur MLA Qazi Nizamuddin and Kaliyar MLA Furkan Ahmad.

A large number of people had gathered for the rally violating social distancing norms and COVID-19 guidelines, Senior Superintendent of Police Senthil Avudai Krishna Raj said.

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They have been booked under sections 188 (disobedience to order promulgated by public servant) and 150 (unlawful assembly) of the Indian Penal Code, and also the Disaster Management Act, the SSP said.

In Dehradun, BJP state president Bansidhar Bhagat criticised the former chief minister for "risking the lives of people just to grab the attention of the media".

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)