COVID-19 lockdown: Delhi Police urges Muslim community not to venture out on Shab-e-Barat

The Delhi Police on Sunday appealed to the Muslim community in the national capital to not venture out of their houses on the forthcoming occasion of Shab-e-Barat in view of the coronavirus lockdown in the country.

The tweet shared by the Delhi Police urged the people of the Muslim community to support the department in the fight against COVID-19 and added that "Lockdown is in force even on the sacred night of Shab-e-Barat on April 8 and 9, 2020."

Shab-e-Barat, which in Islamic faith means the Night of Forgiveness or the Day of Atonement, is considered to be an occasion when the Almighty forgives sinners if they pray. Observed on the night between the 14 and 15th day of the eighth month of the Islamic calendar, the occasion is marked by Muslims congregating in mosques and visiting graves of their departed loved ones.

The roads around mosques and cemeteries see large crowds on the day with extra police deployment to ensure law and order. However, this year the festival has fallen when the nationwide lockdown is in place.

The police have largely been successful in keeping the people restricted to their houses to prevent the spread of coronavirus. No exceptions were made even for Ram Navami, an auspicious festival of the Hindu community which fell on April 2, with no rallies or congregations allowed on the occasion.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on March 24 imposed a 21-day nationwide lockdown to defeat the coronavirus pandemic.