In a dampener for publicity hounds, ban on ‘charity’ selfies

Kshitiz Gaur | TNN | Apr 9, 2020, 06:21 IST

AJMER: No one would be allowed to take selfies and photographs or carry out videography while distributing food packets or dry ration to the needy during the lockdown in Ajmer city of Rajasthan, an official order said on Wednesday. In the order, Ajmer district collector Vishwa Mohan Sharma warned that if such incidents came to light, then FIRs would be registered against the guilty under Indian Penal Code Section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant).
In the last 16 days, there has been a massive rush by NGOs to distribute food packets and groceries among people. But such acts soon became an opportunity for propaganda. In one of the incidents, eight people in Ajmer were clicked distributing two bananas to a poor man.
Similarly, seven members of an NGO of Congressman Riju Jhunjhunwala, who was the party’s candidate for Ajmer Lok Sabha seat in 2019, were photographed feeding grass to a cow. They later uploaded the photos on social media and even got one of them published in a vernacular daily. Other groups posted photos and videos feeding street dogs. The administration said that taking selfies and photographs would mean flouting social distancing norms and that violators would be punished.