Delhi lawmaker Kuldeep Kumar, who announced that he had tested positive for COVID-19 on 29 September, has been booked under the Epidemic Act in Uttar Pradesh for meeting the family of the deceased woman despite contracting the virus.
The Aam Aadmi Party lawmaker had tweeted videos of his visit to Hathras on 4 October, where he can be seen interacting with family members.
The district administration has taken samples from the woman's family for COVID-19 testing. The member of the Delhi legislature reached Hathras along with dozens of his supporters. He has also been accused of revealing the deceased woman's identity through the Twitter post in which he also tagged Delhi Chief Arvind Kejriwal.
Disclosure of the identity of a victim of certain offence is a punishable act in India. It can attract imprisonment extending up to two years, and a monetary fine.
The reported gang rape and brutal murder of a Dalit - lower caste community in India - woman in India's Uttar Pradesh has shaken the entire nation. The state police are facing severe backlash after the victim's family alleged that the officers forcefully cremated their daughter, without fulfilling their wish to see her and take her home "one last time".
The administration has maintained that the body was cremated to maintain the law and order situation in the state. Uttar Pradesh Chief Yogi Adityanath has ordered a probe by the country's top agency, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the case.