FIR against Odisha minister, MLA for flouting Covid norms at funeral

Last Updated October 05, 2020

Puri/ Bhubaneswar, Oct 5: An FIR was filed against School and Mass Education Minister, Samir Ranjan Dash, and Satyabadi MLA Umakanta Samantaray for violating Covid-19 norms during the funeral of ex-minister and BJD leader Pradeep Maharathy at Swargadwar in Puri yesterday. The complaint was filed by local outfit Shree Jagannath Sena, at Sea Beach police station in Puri today. In the complaint, it was alleged that that though minister Dash and MLA Samantray tested positive for the virus a few days ago, they attended the funeral, posing threat to thousands of people present at the funeral. On the other hand, Dash refuted all the allegations and said, “I have not violated any COVID-19 guidelines. I tested positive for coronavirus on September 14 and on the same day, I was admitted to Ashwini Hospital in Cuttack. I was discharged from the hospital on September 21. Yesterday, I attended the funeral of former minister Pradeep Maharathy.”