Hundreds of people violated Covid restrictions to attend the funeral of a horse belonging to a local religious organisation in Karnataka's Belagavi district on Sunday. The large gathering has forced district officials to temporarily seal the village and carry out tests to check for new cases.
A police case has also been filed in relation with the incident.
Visuals shared by news agency ANI showed people walking shoulder-to-shoulder to participate in the funeral of the horse in the Maradimath area of Belagavi. Many were also without face masks.
"A horse of a local religious organisation in Mastmaradi village died in the morning, following which people of the village took out a funeral procession and cremated the horse. The village has been sealed and an FIR has ben registered. We are conducting RT-PCR tests. This village will remain sealed for next 14 days. Nobody is allowed to come in or go out," Laxman Nimbargi, Superintendent of Police, Belgavi, told NDTV.
Karnataka - which has been battling a surge in cases in the second Covid wave - is currently under a lockdown that will remain in force till June 7.
The southern state has reported 25,000 virus-related deaths so far and the number of active cases is around 4.73 lakh.
The total number of COVID-19 cases reported so far is over 24 lakh.
In Jaw-Dropping Video, 12-Foot Long King Cobra Rescued And Released In Karnataka Forest Explained: The Karnataka Quota Bill And Criticism Surrounding It Private Sector Quota Bill To Be Taken Up In Next Cabinet Meet: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah "Jindal Group Executive Showed Porn, Groped Me On Flight": Woman To NDTV Over 300 Indian Students Return Home As 105 Bangladeshis Killed In Protests Bangladesh Imposes Curfew, Deploys Military As 105 Die In Protests 1,100 Flights Cancelled In US As Microsoft Outage Disrupts Operations Elon Musk Congratulates PM Modi On Becoming Most Followed Leader On X With Shadow Cabinet, Naveen Patnaik Makes His Intentions Clear Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.