The district magistrate and the chief of the police in Uttar Pradesh’s Pilibhit led a procession through the town on March 22 while the “janata curfew” was in place. The video (added above) was tweeted by the official Pilibhit Police account but was later deleted.

In the video, the police chief and the district magistrate are seen walking on a street with a group of people, despite social distancing strictures in place to contain the spread of COVID-19. The crowd is seen ringing bells and beating utensils as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call to express gratitude towards the frontline workers amidst the coronavirus pandemic.

The district magistrate later appealed to the people to stay in their houses and not gather together since assemblies increase the chance of the spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic. The video was tweeted along with a message that said that no procession was taken out by the police chief and the magistrate in Pilibhit, which was in contradiction to the video posted earlier.