COVID-19: Police disperses over 500 people heading for funeral in Malegaon amid lockdown

As Maharashtra continues to be the hotspot for the novel coronavirus with a spike in the number of cases every day, around 500 people who gathered to be a part of the funeral procession in Azadpur area were dispersed by the police amid the ongoing lockdown guidelines. The police allowed only 20- 25 to proceed to the cremation ground.

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Most of the people left the place after the police intervened in the matter.

 "Around 500 people were there during the funeral procession but only 20-25 proceeded for funeral ground, rest of them returned to their homes following our request to keep the strength of the gathering around 20 people," said Police Sub Inspector Abhijit Jadhav, Malegaon.

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COVID- 19 cases in Maharashtra

As per the data by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the total number of cases in Maharashtra stands to 4,203, which includes 223 deaths. The financial capital of the State Mumbai has been the worst affected district in the entire country, registering over a hundred cases per day. BMC has set up 438 containment zones throughout Mumbai since the rise in the number of cases. With over 1 million people living in five square kilometre area, Dharavi is Mumbai's most densely populated area and has been under severe scrutiny. As Dharavi's case tally touches 168 with 11 deaths, BMC has started screening all 7.5 lakh residents of Asia's largest slum.

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(With inputs from agency)