‘Why no FIR’: Karnataka HC pulls up Belagavi top cop for violations at Amit Shah’s January rally

The Karnataka HC rapped the Belagavi city police commissioner for his failure to register FIR in connection with a BJP rally held in the city on January 17 where Covid-19 protocols were flouted. The rally was attended by Amit Shah.

The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday pulled up Belagavi City Police Commissioner for failing to register a case against BJP leaders in connection with a rally that was held in the city in January where Covid-19 protocols were flouted. At the Jan-17 rally, which was held in the run-up to the Lok Sabha by-election to the Belagavi seat and attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Covid protocols were flouted with people not even wearing masks or maintaining social distance. The division bench of Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice Suraj Govindaraj observed that the police commissioner “seems to be unaware of the provisions of the Karnataka Epidemic Diseases Act, 2020, and regulations that enable authorities to register First Information Reports for violations”.