Police in Delhi have registered a case against Islamic preacher Maulana Saad and other members of Islamic movement Tableeqi Jamaat for hosting a religious event and allegedly violating Government orders in view of the national lockdown due to Covid-19.
A senior police official said, “We have registered a case under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and section of Epidemic Disease Act against Maulana Saad and other of Tablighi Jamaat at Nizamuddin police station.”
"The organisers had violated government directions regarding restriction of social or political or religious gathering and for taking safety measures, including social distancing for prevention and treatment of COVID-19 viral infection," the police officer said.
The Delhi Police has written to the city government to request taking immediate action with regard to persons, including foreign nationals, associated with Tableegh Jammat and those presently staying at various mosques and places in Delhi.
Action was requested against a total of 157 people, including 94 from Indonesia, 13 from Kyrgyzstan, 9 from Bangladesh, 8 from Malaysia, 7 from Algeria and one each from Tunisia, Belgium and Italy. The others are Indian nationals.
"Many of them are staying in mosques. The places they are staying are of common use and no social distancing measures are possible at these places,” police said.
“It may cause grave danger to public health and hence action should be taken," the police have stated.
Earlier in the day, describing the congregation at the Markaz Talbighi Jamat in the Hazarat Nizamuddin area as a criminal act, Delhi State Chief Arvind Kejriwal wrote to the lieutenant governor to register a case against the Nizamuddin Jammat organisers.
Kejriwal stated that over 1,000 people have been evacuated from Nizamuddin centre. Meanwhile, local residents blame authorities for not acting on complaints against gathering at Markaz (centre).
Addressing media through video conferencing, the Delhi state chief said that 1,107 people who had attended the religious congregation in the Nizamudddin area have been quarantined.
"Out of 97 cases of coronavirus in the city, 24 were those who took part in the congregation earlier this month," said Kejriwal.
Kejriwal slammed the organisers of the religious gathering, saying it was "highly irresponsible" on their part to hold such an event at a time when thousands have died in other countries due to the pandemic.
He further said that any lapse in the performance of the officers related to the Nizamuddin case will not be tolerated and strict action will be initiated.
He also stressed that there was no community transmission of coronavirus yet in Delhi and the situation was under control.
However, the residents of Nizamuddin area on Tuesday accused the civil and police administrations of not heeding their complaints about a large number of people converging at the Tablighi Jamaat Markaz amid the coronavirus outbreak.
Meanwhile, Markaz Nizamuddin, the international headquarters of Tabilghi Jamaat for close to 100 years, in a statement said that when Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the public curfew on 22 March, they discontinued the ongoing programme immediately. But a large number of people could not leave the premises due to the closure of railway services.
