After replacing the Noida district magistrate, the Uttar Pradesh government has removed the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Anurag Bhargav. He has been replaced by A.P. Chaturvedi, Joint Director, Directorate of Family Welfare.
As The Hindu reported on March 30, it was on the cards as the CMO was taken to task by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanth when he visited the district to take stock of the situation.
Noida has the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the State. On Wednesday, 10 more people tested positive, taking the total number of cases to 48. Many of them have been linked to one fire safety firm, which was not sealed till March 31.
Dr. Bhargav has been attached to the office of the CEO of Greater Noida Narendra Bhushan, who has been appointed the nodal officer to address the COVID-19 pandemic in the district.
Prayer on rooftop
In a separate incident, one person was arrested and a dozen more were booked by the Noida police on Thursday for allegedly praying in a group of 15-16 people on a rooftop in JJ Cluster Sector 16 in violation of the restrictions during the lockdown. The incident came to light on Wednesday evening after a video of the group namaz went viral.
Taking cognisance of the video, the police arrested the person who led the prayers, Deputy Commissioner Sankalp Sharma confirmed. “The act could have led to the spread of the virus,” he said.
Apart from invoking relevant sections of the Epidemic Diseases Act 1897 and the National Disaster Management Act 2005, an FIR has been registered under sections 188, 269 an 270 of the IPC.
