Man celebrates birthday on street, bursts crackers; held

Mumbai:

A 22-year-old man was arrested from Nagpada in south Mumbai for allegedly violating the lockdown order and social distancing norms by celebrating his birthday with his friends on a street in his area and bursting crackers, police said on Sunday.

The accused, Hammad Ansari, who claims to be a social workers, was arrested on Saturday after he shared a video of his birthday celebration on social media, a police official said.

“Ansari and his friends celebrated his birthday during the intervening night of Friday and Saturday at Madanpura.

They burst loud fire crackers and Ansari cut a cake on a street,” the official said.

“Through their acts, they violated the social distancing norms and the lockdown order. In the video that Ansari had posted on Facebook, he boasted about how he celebrated the birthday despite the restrictions,” he added.

The Nagpada Police registered a case against Ansari and three others under IPC sections 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant), 269 and 270 (negligent and malignant act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life), and the Disaster Management Act, the official added.

Ansari was brought to the police station and placed under arrest. However, he was immediately allowed to go after being served a notice, the official said, adding that his video was deleted from the social media platform.