On Friday, the Surat Police booked Deputy Mayor Nirav Shah and 17 others for violating lockdown norms.
According to a report by Indian Express, the Deputy Mayor along with others gathered at a Jain temple to feed stray animals and participate in a discourse that followed. They were booked after a video of the incident went viral on social media. The Adajan police have booked Deputy Mayor Nirav Shah and 17 others under IPC sections 269 (Negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life), 188 (Disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) and under the Epidemic Diseases Act.
Deputy Mayor Nirav Shah told The Indian Express, “We started supplying food to animals and birds in Paal area. If there was any violation, we apologise. This kind of mistake will not occur in the future.”
On Saturday, in Gujarat 36 new coronavirus positive cases were reported following aggressive testing in hotspots in major cities, taking total cases to 468. Three more deaths took the state's death toll to 22. In the last 12 hours, Vadodara saw 18 new cases, Ahmedabad 16, and one each in Bharuch and Chotta Udepur.
