The Tablighi Jamaat fiasco was, undoubtedly, the biggest setback to India’s fight against the Wuhan Coronavirus. The mass gathering at the Markaz Nizamuddin in Delhi, and the subsequent transport of the virus through carriers across the length and breadth of India has jeopardised greatly the safety and health of this country. However, if the gathering itself was irresponsible borne of a toxic mix of ignorance, stupidity and callousness, the conduct of the Jamaatis that followed could only be attributed to their perversity.
Ever since the Tablighi Jamaat was busted and hauled up to quarantine facilities and hospitals, they have embarked on a Jihad against civility, decency and the laws of this country. Its members have sexually harassed nurses, made life difficult for healthcare providers and refused to cooperate with the administration even on the face of calamity. In this report, we shall document the various instances when members of the Tablighi Jamaat transgressed all limits of acceptable conduct or the Islamic Missionary Organization played a prominent role.
1. Spitting at Delhi Quarantine Units
Some members of the Tablighi Jamaat quarantined at a railway facility misbehaved with and spit at doctors and healthcare personnel attending to them during the early days of April. “At the quarantine centres, they (attendees) misbehaved with the staff and even raised objections over the food being served to them… They even spit at the doctors and those attending to them and refused to stop roaming around the quarantine facilities,” Northern Railway spokesperson Deepak Kumar had said.
2. Attack on Cops by group owing allegiance to Tablighi Jamaat in Bihar
Four cops were injured in an attack by a group owing allegiance to the Tablighi Jamaat in Madhubani, Bihar in early April. The policemen were attacked for admonishing them for defying the nationwide lockdown imposed to curb the spread of the pandemic. It was not known then whether the individuals had returned from the Jamaat event at Markaz Nizamuddin. Four were arrested in connection with the incident and efforts were on to nab the other accused.
3. Cops attacked in Gujarat
An attack was launched on policemen at Gomtipur in Ahmedabad when they went to search for members of the Tablighi Jamaat. Stones were pelted at the policemen one cop was injured. Two were detained over the matter.
4. Doctors attacked in Hyderabad
The family of a man who had died of the Wuhan Coronavirus after attending the Tablighi Jamat event at Markaz Nizamuddin attacked doctors at the Gandhi Hospital in Hyderabad. Following his death, two male and one female relative of the patient who had also tested positive for the virus had attacked doctors who were on-call. The relatives damaged hospital property and even broke the windows. “Commissioner of Police visited Gandhi hospital late night and has interacted with all doctors there. He also reviewed the entire security arrangement and also decided to upgrade the security arrangements. Additional DCP Sri A Bhaskar will be overall incharge of the security,” read a press note issued by the Hyderabad City Commissioner’s officer.
5. Tablighi Jamaat members spit on people, Delhi
Jamaatis spit at people and misbehaved with doctors when they were being transported from the Markaz Nizamuddin to the quarantine center. They were being transported in a bus when they started misbehaving with the team of health officials, the Police and the media. Then they proceeded to spit here and there. When efforts were made to close the windows of the bus, they started spitting on people.
6. Villager attacked in Maharashtra for informing about Jamaat attendees
A man was assaulted by a mob in Maharashtra’s Solapur district for informing local authorities about those who had attended the Tablighi Jamaat gathering in Delhi. The 56-year-old man had informed the village ‘Gramsevak’ in Pimpri that about seven locals had attended the Tablighi meet in Delhi’s Nizamuddin and had recently returned to the village. He had insisted that they should be tested for coronavirus. Following this, Tablighi Jamaat attendees in the village were angered by this disclosure of information and attacked the man on Tuesday.
7. Jamaatis demand Biryani at Gorakhpur
Members of the Tablighi Jamaat quarantined at a medical college in Gorakhpur were not satisfied with the healthy food they were being provided by the healthcare professionals. They started demanding non-vegetarian food and biryani, something that is prohibited in the hospital. They even started threatening the workers at the canteen.
8. Spitting at hospital in Dehradun
Jamaatis at the Doon Medical College harassed the healthcare staff in the hospital. Some of them started complaining about the food they were given and others started spitting all over the hospital. When the staff at the hospital tried to make them understand, they started misbehaving with them. Eventually, they were forced to register a complaint with the DIG.
9. Sexual harassment of nurses in Uttar Pradesh
Jamaatis lodged up at the Ghaziabad Hospital in Uttar Pradesh engaged in sexually perverted behaviour with the nurses. They made lewd remarks, roamed around the hospital naked and made obscene gestures at the female healthcare staff at the hospital. Following the incident, a written complaint was filed by the Chief Medical Officer at the facility and subsequently, NSA was invoked against them by the Yogi Government in the state.
10. Jamaatis misbehave with medical staff at Kanpur
Members of the Tablighi Jamaat quarantined at Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi Memorial Medical College in Kanpur misbehaved with the medical staff at the hospital and spat on them. Reportedly, the hospital staff have accused the attendees of the Tablighi Jamaat of breaking the rules of quarantine and defying all norms of social distancing. The staff said that the Jamaat members are making unnecessary demands to the hospital staff creating difficulties in their treatment.
“We had 22 people for two days who attended the Tablighi Jamaat event in Markaz, Nizamuddin in Delhi. Our team of doctors, staff and nurses were taking care of them in rotation. However, the patients behaved rudely with the medical team, they misbehaved, spit here and there and also used to huddle up together in the hall despite being repeatedly told not to do so,” Dr Arati Dave Lalchandani, the Principal and Dean of the GSVM Medical College, said.
11. Maulana who spoke out against Tablighi Jamaat threatened
Maulana Jartab Raza Khan had criticised the Tablighi Jamaat for jeopardising the health of the country with its irresponsible and malicious conduct and questioned them on why they created the conditions which made it a hotspot for the virus to spread. Consequently, threats were issued against him through social media. The Maulana had also declared his support for the BJP during the Lok Sabha elections.
12. Hindu man shot dead in Prayagraj for criticism of Tablighi Jamaat
A 30-year-old man named Lotan Nishad was shot dead by one Mohammed Sona in the Bakshi Moda area in Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh for accusing the Islamic Missionary Movement, Tablighi Jamaat, of endangering the lives of other people. Nishad was shot while he sitting at a tea shop, and he died on the spot. Two, including the accused Sona and his father Qadir, have been arrested under the National Security Act (NSA). The Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath, had announced a compensation of ₹5,00,000 for the family of the victim.
13. Health Officials attacked in Ludhiana
A team of health officials were attacked in Ludhiana after they visited the Sherpur area in order to pick individuals suspected to be Coronavirus positive. These individuals had come in contact with members associated with the Tablighi Jamaat. When these individuals started video recording the events after they were made to sit in the ambulance, the healthcare workers objected to it. But the one making the video assaulted them. Soon enough a crowd gathered and started attacking them with lathis. Somehow, the workers managed to drag the individuals to the hospital. Some of them were injured in the process.
14. Jamaatis demand Beef in Bihar
Members of the Tablighi Jamaat admitted to the isolation ward of Vardhman Institute of Medical Sciences, Pawapuri harassed the staff at the hospital incessantly. They spat on the doctors and healthcare officials and spat on them. Furthermore, they demanded that they be served beef in their food.
15. Tablighi Jamaat member goes crazy in Kanpur
A member of the Tablighi Jamaat who was confirmed to be Coronavirus positive and consequently admitted to the isolation ward at the Sarsaul CHC in Kanpur created a ruckus at the site. First of all, he spat on the medical team and the doctors and then claimed that he is not afraid of death. ‘What is death?’ he asked. Subsequently, he locked himself up inside the isolation room which caused an uproar in the entire department.
16. Jamaatis defecate at the Narela Quarantine Center
Two members of the Tablighi Jamaat defecated on the corridors of the Narela Quarantine Center in Delhi. The two of them went so far as to misbehave with the office staff after excreting on the corridors. An FIR was registered over the matter and eventually, the Indian Army was called in to take over the medical screening set up.
17. Doctor continues to work after attending Tablighi Jamaat event
Ophthalmologist Dr Idris Akbani continued to see patients and even operated on a few after attending the Tablighi Jamaat event at Markaz Nizamuddin. He was advised to quarantine himself for two weeks but he disregarded the diktat. When another doctor raised the matter on social media, she was attacked for it on social media. Dr Idris Akbani is the Head of Department at Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Adilabad, Telangana.
18. Bangladeshi Jamaati creates ruckus at Sitapur
A Bangladshi Jamaati admitted to the Sitapur district hospital after being nabbed by the Police created a ruckus. He roamed around at the hospital and demanded that he be served biryani for food. He is a patient of diabetes. When he was asked to take his medicines, he refused. The medical staff were forced to inform the authorities regarding the matter following which the Police arrived at the scene to discipline him. Things returned to normalcy soon after.
19. Female doctor harassed at Delhi Hospital
A 25-year old Jamaati admitted to the Lok Narayan Jayprakash Hospital in Delhi made lewd remarks at a female doctor. When the male staff intervened in the defense of the doctor, then the rest of the crowd became aggressive. The doctors were forced to hide in their duty office. The patients then made an attempt to break the door. As per the complaint filed by the doctors, when fellow doctors objected to the lewd remarks made against their colleague, the patients started threatening them. After they went to hide in the duty room, efforts were made to break in.
20. State Government Officials attacked in Odisha
Villagers in Odisha’s Jajpur district led by a Tablighi Jamaat returnee and his two associates attacked state government officials and held them captive. The incident occurred at Gopinathpur village under Kuakhia police station when district collector Ranjan Kumar Das and other officers visited the area to oversee the implementation of the lockdown guidelines and the wearing of masks which had been made mandatory. The three main culprits were detained later and sent for quarantine.
