Sj Desk
India may lack N95 masks, but one thing the country has in abundance is the supply of self-styled godmen, who rank high on theatrics but low on the common-sense scale.
Defying all logic and the nationwide lockdown, a self-styled god-woman who calls herself "Maa Adi Shakti", refused to call off a religious gathering in Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday morning. On an unrelated note, 'Narcissism' is defined as "A disorder in which a person has an inflated sense of self-importance."
"Maa Adi Shakti" not only refused to cancel the gathering, but she also brandished a sword when police personnel rushed to the site in the Mehwa Pudwa area of Deoria district in the eastern part of the state.
The police said that the so-called god-woman has been arrested along with 12 others.
The religious gathering was taking place to mark the first day of the nine-day Navratri festival, which began on Wednesday.
Deoria Superintendent of Police Sripat Mishra said, “In the morning, we received a tip-off that a religious gathering was underway for Navratri and some people were doing faith healing there.”
“On reaching the spot, the police appealed to the crowd to return home, telling them that Section 144 (of the CrPC) was in force across the state. But the self-styled godwoman became aggressive,” he said.
“She refused to call off the gathering and started brandishing a sword to stop the police. The police then used force to disperse the crowd and arrested 13 people, including the woman and her husband. FIRs (first information reports) under relevant sections have been lodged against all of them and they will be sent to jail,” Mishra added.
On Tuesday evening, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a 21-day nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of the deadly COVID-19 that has so far infected 649 and resulted in the deaths of 13 in India. He emphasized on the need for social-distancing to flatten the curve.
"Jaan hai toh jahan hai", the PM quoted.
