BJP MLC, 21 others booked for lockdown violation

Aurangabad: Beed police have registered an offence against newly elected BJP MLC Ramesh Karad and 21 others on Thursday night after photos of him thronging Gopinathgad along with his supporters went viral.

In the photos that are making rounds in social media, not a single person can be spotted wearing mask.

They are also seen paying no heed to social distancing norm—a rule being promulgated by government authorities to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

In a span of three days, Karad has become the second BJP MLC to have been booked for violating lockdown orders. MLC Suresh Dhas was booked for visiting a containment zone from where Covid-19 cases were reported recently.

After getting elected, Karad, along with his supporters, had gone to Parli Vaijnath tehsil in Beed district for paying obeisance at Gopinathgad—a lotus shaped religious structure constructed in the memory of political stalwart late Gopinath Munde.

Police said that Karad thronged Gopinathgad with his supporters without any prior intimation or permission.

Authorities said that an FIR has been registered against 22 people at Parli rural police station under sections 143, 188 , 269, 270 and 271 of the IPC.

Beed superintendent of police Harssh Poddar told TOI, “From the photos and videos that have gone viral on social media, we found that there were more people than the permissible limit and so an offence has been registered.”

Reports about Karad visiting Parli without permission from the district administration could not be independently confirmed. Despite repeated attempts, Karad could not be reached for comment.