In poor taste: Youth held, 20 booked for ‘celebrating’ COVID with feast

A group of youngsters from Thiyagasamuthiram near Kumbakonam had gathered on an isolated open ground, cooked non-vegetarian food served in large banana leaf and live streamed it on their social media account. “We are celebrating Coronavirus in our village,” said a youth who recorded the celebration while the others were heard shouting that the post had received so many likes and views.

After streaming it live, the video was reportedly shared on other social media accounts too. The Kabistalam police, who saw the video, conducted an inquiry after which they found that the youngsters from the village had aired the video on Wednesday afternoon.

Upon further investigation, police identified Sivaguru (29) from Thiyagasamuthiram had arranged the ‘celebration’. It is said, Sivaguru who had returned from Tiruppur recently, hosted a party for his friends with mutton. Subsequently, the police have arrested Sivaguru on Thursday. Based on his confession, police registered a case against 20 others who participated in the gathering, including Sakthivel, Sankar and Manikandan from the same place.