Bihar: Father of groom, who died of coronavirus, booked
What's the story
A few days ago, a wedding in Bihar turned into a funeral as the groom allegedly died of coronavirus, two days after he tied the knot. And now, in a recent development, the groom's father Ambika Chaudhary has been named in an FIR registered by Patna district administration. Over 100 people who attended the wedding in Paliganj contracted the infection. Here are more details.
Backstory
Groom drove from Gurugram to Bihar for the wedding
In the last week of May, the groom, who was employed as a software engineer in Gurugram, drove down to his hometown for the wedding. By June 14, he complained of ill health and suggested deferring the wedding. However, both the families convinced him otherwise, citing financial issues and argued that rural areas have largely been unaffected. He took paracetamol before his pre-wedding festivities.
Death
Groom died while on way to AIIMS, Patna
On June 17, the groom's health deteriorated and his family finally took him to AIIMS, Patna, but he died mid-way. Reports suggested he was cremated in a jiffy, without the COVID-19 test, but someone tipped off the officials. Soon, a massive contact tracing and testing exercise was launched to mitigate the damage of the super-spreader wedding. A camp for testing was also set up.
Inquiry
Probe found guidelines were not followed at the wedding
An inquiry initiated by Patna District Magistrate Kumar Ravi found that Ambika didn't follow the guidelines. As per the Centre's rules, only 50 guests are allowed at a wedding but the attendees of this particular one topped over 100. Most of them didn't wear masks. In fact, the administration took stock of the number of plates to know how many guests attended the wedding.
Case
Charged under relevant sections, father denied son had coronavirus
As the matter got attention, a case was registered under relevant sections of the Disaster Management Act, which is in place since the outbreak of the disease. Meanwhile, Ambika, who is a government school teacher, denied that his son had contracted the virus. He also claimed the last rites weren't performed in a jiffy. Separately, Ambika himself is said to have tested COVID-19 positive.
Rajasthan
Similarly, in Rajasthan, a groom's father was fined for wedding
In a similar incident, a businessman in Rajasthan's Bhilwara was booked after he flouted rules at his son's wedding, which led to over a dozen people getting infected with coronavirus. A fine of over Rs. 6 lakh was levied on him and he was directed to pay for the treatment of the guests who fell sick after attending his son's lavish wedding.