41 Charged In Meghalaya For Attending Assam Wedding, 10 Coronavirus Positive

A case was filed on Monday against 41 people who attended a wedding, violating the COVID-19 protocol, officials said.

The wedding was held in Guwahati in Assam on June 27 and a reception was in Shillong on July 2.

Magisterial inquiries have revealed that all the 41 who attended the wedding and the reception violated lockdown protocols and obtained interstate passes on dubious grounds, officials said, adding that so far 10 of them have tested positive for COVID-19.

East Khasi Hills district Deputy Commissioner Matsiewdor W Nongbri lodged a police complaint following a direction from the state government, they said.

"The complaint was received from the deputy commissioner against residents of Shillong who attended the wedding at the Green Wood Resort in Khanapara in Guwahati on June 27," East Khasi Hills Superintendent of Police Sylvester Nongtynger told PTI.

He said the case was registered at Sardar police station under relevant sections of the Epidemic Diseases Act and the Meghalaya Epidemic Diseases COVID-19 Regulation, 2020.

Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong said the government will not spare anyone who takes the administration for a ride and the law will take its own course.

"We have directed the deputy commissioner to lodge an FIR against the violators and charge them accordingly," he said.

Mr Tynsong said an employee of the North Eastern Hill University at its Tura campus in the Garo Hills region was also charged with violating lockdown protocols.