NEW DELHI: Daati Maharaj, a rape accused, was booked by Delhi Police on Saturday for violating social distancing norms and lockdown rules by organising a religious congregation and performing a ceremony in Shanidam Temple in South Delhi’s Asola Village.
As per officials, videos and pictures of Daati Maharaj and more than ten others, including children went viral on social media, following which, South Delhi district magistrate (DM) BM Mishra asked Delhi Police to investigate and set up an enquiry in to the matter. In the preliminary enquiry, police found that the chief pujari of Shanidham mandir, Daati Maharaj, along with others had performed a ceremony at the mandir on May 22 around 7:30 pm.
In the video, no one is seen wearing a mask or maintaining social distancing norms. “Today it came to our notice that some photographs of a ceremony at Shanidham mandir, Asola are being circulated on social media, wherein the social distancing norms were not being followed and a religious congregation was organised in contravention of the lockdown guidelines,” said a senior police official. They people at the congregation are found to have committed an offence u/s 188/34 IPC, 54 B of DDMA Act and section 3 of Epidemic Diseases Act, said the police official.