Rajith Kumar, fans booked for gathering at Kochi airport amid coronavirus scare

Rajith Kumar, fans booked for gathering at Kochi airport amid coronavirus scare
A large number of fans had gathered at the airport for receiving Rajith late Sunday as he arrived there after being evicted from the reality show.

Kochi: A case has been registered against controversial public speaker and Bigg Boss Malayalam season 2 contestant Rajith Kumar and a group of people for assembling on the premises of the Cochin International Airport amid the coronavirus scare.

The Nedumbassery police registered the case in the wee hours of Monday against four named accused, including Rajith, and 75 identifiable accused under sections 143, 147, 149, 188 and 283 of IPC.

The sections broadly pertain to unlawful assembly, rioting, disobeying orders of a public servant and causing obstruction to public way and thereby causing danger to the public. The police also cited a High Court ruling that there should not be any procession around 500 metres from the airport.

A large number of fans had gathered at the airport for receiving Rajith late Sunday as he arrived there after being evicted from the reality show. He was evicted from Bigg Boss for applying chilly in the eyes of fellow contestant and model Reshma against the rules of the show.

Raajith, Suhas
Ernakulam District Collector S Suhas (right) termed the happenings at the airport a shame to Kerala.

Rajith, a professor of Botany at the Sree Sankara College in Kalady, is known for his public speeches which have drawn flak from rights activists for misogynist and transphobic comments.

He has a huge fan following on social media after he became a part of Bigg Boss. The fans, mostly youth, identify themselves as Rajith army. Rajith and his fans are facing scathing criticism from various corners for breaking the state protocol for containing the spread of coronavirus for which 20 people have tested positive in Kerala.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has repeatedly urged the public and various organisations to avoid public events and mass gathering.

Ernakulam District Collector S Suhas termed the happenings at the airport a shame to Kerala.

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