Daati Maharaj who was arrested for opening temple amid COVID-19 lockdown granted bail

Daati Maharaj was granted bail on Wednesday after he was arrested earlier in connection with the opening of Shani Dham temple in Mehrauli, Delhi, amid the Coronavirus lockdown. According to the police, a preliminary enquiry has revealed that Daati Maharaj, along with some others, had performed a ceremony at the temple at around 7:30 pm on May 22, flouting social distancing norms issued during the lockdown. A case was registered on May 23, at Police Station Maidan Garhi in the matter.

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Atul Thakur, DCP (South Delhi) informed that the accused was arrested on Wednesday under Sections 188 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), 54B of District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) Act and Section 3 of the Epidemic Diseases Act.

The incident came to light when some photographs of a ceremony at Shani Dham temple were being circulated on social media. The photographs showed that social distancing norms were not being followed and a religious congregation was organised in violation of the lockdown guidelines, Atul Thakur, DCP (South Delhi) informed earlier.

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COVID-19 cases in Delhi

The coronavirus death toll in Delhi climbed to 303, while 792 fresh cases of COVID-19 were reported on Wednesday, the highest single-day spike here, taking the total number of cases in the city to over 15,000, authorities said. The previous highest spike in fresh cases -- 660 -- was recorded on May 22. This is the first time in Delhi that over 700 COVID-19 cases have been reported in a day.

In a bulletin issued on Wednesday, the Delhi Health Department said the death toll from coronavirus infection has risen to 303 and the total number of cases mounted to 15,257.

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(With agency inputs)