Case registered against SP MLA, son in Moradabad

BAREILLY: A case has been registered against Samajwadi Party MLA Haji Ikram Qureshi and his son for gathering a crowd during ‘Roza Iftar’ on Friday in Moradabad in violation of the lockdown, police said on Saturday.

According to police circle officer, (CO) Poonam Sirohi, the SP lawmaker and his son Ubaid Qureshi gathered a crowd at a city crossing in a hotspot during ‘Roza Iftar’ on Friday.

Despite restrictions and strict instructions on maintaining social distance in view of the lockdown, the SP MLA distributed food packets and ration, ignoring the guidelines issued by the union home ministry and the World Health Organisation (WHO). The CO said both Qureshi and his son had been booked under sections 188, 269, 270. Interestingly, the police force which was present at the spot at the time of the incident did nothing and stood as a mere spectator as shown in a video of the event, doing the rounds on the social media. In the video, it can be seen that at least 100 people are standing close to one another.

Meanwhile, the SP legislator and his son, while pleading ‘not guilty’ said, “We have been doing this (organising iftar and distributing food) for the last several years now without a break.” Qureshi said it was a family tradition that they were following and had no intention of causing any harm to anyone. “People know about this and turned up on their own. There was no way we could manage or stop them from converging and collecting the food,” he said.

12 HELD IN MUZ’NAGAR

As many as 12 people from Sisoli village under Bhoakala police station limits in Muzaffarnagar district were arrested for offering prayer inside a house in violation of the lockdown norms, police said on Saturday. The arrested persons had been booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Epidemic Diseases Act, they added.