13 Delhi residents booked for flouting COVID-19 protocol at party

NOIDA: Police have booked 13 people from Delhi, including three women, for violating Covid norms by gathering at a party here, officials said on Wednesday.

Acting on a tip-off, the local expressway police raided the party being held at a farmhouse in Sector 135 on Tuesday evening, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (Noida) Ranvijay Singh said.

"There was no liquor or objectionable substance found at the spot but only snacks, food and drinks," Singh said.

"However, these people were booked for partying in violation of the COVID-19 protocols and guidelines besides violation of CrPC restrictions imposed here," he said.

The FIR was lodged under Section 188 (disobeying order duly promulgated by a government official) of the Indian Penal Code and under provisions of the Epidemic Diseases Act, the officer said.

On May 30, a Ukrainian national and a married Indian couple were arrested from a Noida apartment where over a dozen people were caught partying in violation of protocols, according to the officials.

Police had recovered 1.6 kg of cannabis from the arrestees.

The 12 people, who were partying in the house, were briefly held but released after being booked for violating restrictions placed under Section 144 of the CrPC and the Epidemic Diseases Act, among others, they said.

The coronavirus-induced curfew was relaxed in Gautam Buddh Nagar from Monday, following a dip in cases even as officials urged people to adhere to protocols like social distancing.