BHUBANESWAR: Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee president Niranjan Patnaik and seven others were fined Rs 500 each for violating social distancing norms during a demonstration by 14 political parties in Bhubaneswar over the alleged decline in COVID-19 tests in the state.
"About eight persons have been fined Rs 500 each for violating social distancing norms. The process to identify and fine other persons who violated the norms during the demonstration is on," said Additional CP Anup Kumar Sahoo.
Police said seven other politicians including Koraput MP Saptagiri Ulaka, All India Forward Bloc Odisha unit's general secretary Jyoti Ranjan Mahapatra, state secretary of CPI(M) Ali Kishore Patnaik, AAP's Nishikant Mohapatra and others were fined.
However, Patnaik insisted that he had maintained social distancing during the demonstration. "In April, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had announced that 15,000 samples will be tested every day but the number of tests being done is less than 4,000 per day," he alleged. He also claimed that all migrants returning to the state are not being tested before they are sent to their homes.