Hundreds of people in India were caught on camera breaking lockdown rules in order to attend a funeral that was carried out for a horse.
Watch the video of the gathering below:
Video that is viral on the internet right now shows the moment hundreds of people breaking coronavirus lockdown rules in the country in order to pay their respects to a horse that is considered as divine.
The incident happened in Karnataka, which is located in Southern India.
This happened as India is facing one of the deadliest coronavirus surge since the start of this pandemic.
Around 400 people gathered to give the horse, which belonged to a religious organisation, a proper send off.
People said that the horse was a “guardian deity” that was protecting them against the coronavirus.
Before dying, the horse, which was 24, was allowed to roam the village freely.
Locals believed that it would “ward off the ongoing second wave of COVID-19”.
Upon being questioned by the police, the locals said that they had gathered to carry out the last rights of the horse in order to pacify the gods.
The Maradi Village, which is located in The GOkak Taluk, has been sealed.
The village will remain closed for 14 days in order to make sure a massive surge in cases will not carry out.
450 tests have been carried out so far.
So what’s up with the horse?
This is the same horse that was made to wander around the village during the first wave of the virus in the country.
No one had caught the virus that time.
However after the gathering, 1 person has caught the virus.
Manjunath HUkkeri, the former owner of the horse, said:
Over the years, the animals have gained the status of ‘guardian deity’. Elders say that in the time of plague and cholera too, mutt horses were left to walk in the village to protect residents.
Right now, a massive surge in COVID cases have been reported in India.
Earlier this month, over 414,000 people caught the virus in a single day.
India also reported over 4000 deaths on a daily basis for at least 1 week.
Most of the deaths and cases are not reported due to people not believing in the ongoing pandemic.