The Andhra Pradesh police on Sunday registered a case against Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N Chandrababu Naidu for violating lockdown orders in Andhra Pradesh.
The former Chief Minister has been booked under Section 188 (Disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
It was last week that Naidu returned to Amaravati from Hyderabad after more than two months, which sparked a political row with the leaders of the ruling YSRCP alleging violation of lockdown rules. Accompanied by his son Nara Lokesh, the TDP chief entered Andhra by road as party supporters lined up along the roadside to welcome his entry.
According to reports, the police took note of a complaint by an advocate, Srinivas, who pointed out that Naidu's visit to Andhra saw large crowds gather at Kanchikacherla and Jaggaiahpeta, without physical distancing rules being followed or masks being worn. The advocate argued that as Naidu did not stop his supporters from violating the lockdown in place, action should be taken against him.
A YSRCP leader from Kadapa even wrote to the Director General of Police (DGP) and sought action against Naidu for 'deliberately violating' the COVID-19 lockdown rules and alleged that he also violated the Epidemic Diseases Act and Communicable Diseases, Prevention and Control Act, 1988.
Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh registered its highest ever single-day spike of COVID-19 cases on Sunday with 98 positive cases detected. The previous highest single-day tally of 82 cases was reported on April 27.
With the latest update, the state's tally is now 3,042. On Sunday, 43 persons were discharged from hospitals, resulting in a cumulative tally of 2,135 recovered persons in Andhra Pradesh. With this, the number of active cases stands at 845.
With one death each reported from Krishna and Chittoor districts, the death toll in the state climbed to 64 on Sunday morning.