On Sunday, Maulana Saad Kandhalvi, the Tablighi Jamaat Chief who has been on the run from the law enforcement, released an audio clip wherein he urged the Tablighi Jamaat members to cooperate with the administration and health officials during quarantine and Coronavirus testing.
Interestingly, Saad was responsible for organising the religious congregation at the Nizamuddin Markaz which was attended by more than 3400 jamaatis. According to the Tablighi Jamaat Chief, the epidemic is, in fact, the result of people distancing themselves from their Creator.
Saad added, “It is important to get treated after contracting a disease. Take care of your neighbours. Ensure that none sleeps hungry. Help others as per your capacity.” He further emphasised, “If we exhibit brotherhood and treat others humanely, then, our creator Allah will have mercy upon us.”
#Breaking | Markaz boss Maulana Saad mocks from hiding.
— TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) April 19, 2020
Maulana Saad has released an audio message & has urged Tabligh to co-operate with cops.
Listen in. pic.twitter.com/oAqDgT0VcY
It must be noted that in a sermon on March 23, Saad instigated Muslims to defy the lockdown. He said, “This is the time to fill the mosques. I have been saying this since the beginning that this is the time to fill up the mosques. Do not come into the talks to empty the mosques. In fact, it is time to increase the mosques.”
Maulana Saad on the run
The Tablighi Jamaat chief is still absconding. The Delhi Police crime branch had sent two notices to Maulana Saad under Section 91 of the Criminal Procedure Code. The police have asked Maulana Saad to provide some documents. The second notice was sent after the first notice was found “unsatisfactory”. While Maulana remained untraceable Delhi police slapped another notice with 36 questions at his farmhouse in Shamli near Delhi.
There were reports that the head of the Tablighi Jamaat, Maulana Saad, who claims to have quarantined himself in the wake of the Wuhan Coronavirus outbreak was reportedly using his time to gather support and mobilise the Jamaatis. Saad, a resident of Zakir Nagar is allegedly hiding on the outskirts of Delhi at a supporter’s house. Reportedly, the Islamic cleric had hidden in a densely populated area, knowing well that it could help evade arrest.
Charges of Culpable Homicide, Money Laundering
On March 31, the Delhi police had registered a First Information Report (FIR) against Maulana Saad under the Epidemics Act 1897 for allowing religious congregation in the month of March, despite repeated warnings from the center and the state government. On Wednesday, the Tablighi Jamaat Chief was booked for culpable homicide not amounting to murder under Section 304 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
On April 16, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had registered a money laundering case against the Maulana Saad and nine others under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) based on predicate offence that was registered by Delhi police. The agency had begun investigating the trust and the transactions of the trust that belonged to the Tablighi Jamaat chief.
