The swift rise in coronavirus cases in the country has prompted several states to announce lockdown hoping to curb the mounting cases. Tripura too followed suit and announced night curfew from 10 pm to 5 am following a surge of covid cases. Furthermore, the cap for guests at weddings was 100, reports NDTV. Nevertheless, district officials reported that the weddings were being celebrated long after 10 pm, which was a violation to curfew.
A video went viral online showing West Tripura District Magistrate and Collector Shailesh Kumar Yadav as well as the local police entering marriage halls and requesting guests to vacate the premises. The clip also showed Yadav pushing a groom and his family towards the exit. The officer was also seen holding other guests by their necks for allegedly violating curfew. Take a look:
Shame. This is not the way Mr DM. Your arrogance is a sign of ego. You need to be firm but polite pic.twitter.com/o6aHChTqvL
— Supriya Sahu IAS (@supriyasahuias) April 28, 2021
Almost 31 people, were detained from a wedding ceremony for violating the night curfew. Moreover, the IAS officer was criticized for aggressively pushing and jostling guests as well as his alleged physical harassment of the bride and the priests.
“All these people are highly educated but they do not follow the norms amid the alarming rise in coronavirus cases. These people on the other hand would accuse the government of doing nothing. I also suggest suspending the officer-in-charge of the West Agartala police station,” said the officer.
However, soon after the video of the raids went viral on social media, the officer was criticized by some for his alleged “high-handedness”. District Magistrate and Collector Shailesh Kumar Yadav later apologized for his actions.
“If anyone got hurt due to my action, I am apologizing for that. I have done this for the larger interest of society and the people. I have taken the strict action to give a message to the people to maintain the government SOP,” Yadav said, according to News18.
All 31 detainees in West Agartala were consequently released by the police. Do you think the IAS officer was right to rebuke the wedding guests? Or should his demeanor during the raids have been more polite? Tell us!