Several members of the Tablighi Jamaat who had attended the religious congregation organised at the Nizamuddin Markaz between March 13 and March 15 have reportedly informed the Delhi police that they had paid for food and shelter, prior to the commencement of the event.
As per a Times of India report, the cops are now investigating whether it was the ‘money angle’ that encouraged the organisers to flout government orders and prevent the Jamaatis from leaving the premises of the Markaz. The Delhi Police is now scrutinising the account books to ascertain the amount received by them from the attendees.
Over 9000 Tablighi Jamaatis were said to have attended the event in Delhi’s Banglewali Masjid by Nizamuddin Markaz. Adding the Jamaatis who have been coming to the Markaz and their contacts, over 25,000 people linked to the religious group have already been quarantined by the government.
Foreign Tablighi Jamaat members Jailed
17 foreign nationals associated with the Tablighi Jamaat have been sent to jail in Bahraich, Uttar Pradesh on Saturday. The Jamaatis are from Indonesia and Thailand. The foreign nationals were part of the 21 Jamaatis who were apprehended from the Taj and Quraish Masjid in the city.
They were kept under quarantine although they had tested negative for the Wuhan Coronavirus. The Jamaatis were later produced in front of the Magistrate after the mandated period of quarantine had ended. They have been sent to jail for violating visa and passport norms.
The foreign Tablighi Jamaat members were charged under sections 269, 270, 271, 188, section 03 of the Epidemic Diseases Act (1897), section 12(3) of the Passport Act (1967), sections 14(b) and 14(c) of the Foreigners Act (1946) and section 56 of the Disaster Management Act (2005).
It is notable here that thousands of Jamaatis had attended the event at Delhi’s Banglewali Masjid, organised by the Nizamuddin Markaz, flouting rules against gatherings. Over the last few weeks, Jamaatis travelling all over India has been found to be the worst spreader of the coronavirus pandemic. From Kashmir to Andaman Nicobar Islands and the North East, Jamaatis from Delhi make the most number of coronavirus infected patients.
Hunt for Maulana Saad underway
According to media reports, the Delhi Police’s team of crime branch officials is all set to nab controversial Muslim cleric Maulana Muhammad Saad – the mastermind of the Tablighi Jamaat coronavirus incident, to question the Tablighi leader and other people named in the FIR in next two days.
The sources in the Delhi police told India TV that they also suspect that Maulana Saad might make excuses to avoid questioning claiming that he has just come back from home quarantine, therefore, he will not be able to support the inquiry immediately. He might also say that since he was in quarantine from the last 14 days, therefore, he is not aware of the current situation of the Jamaat headquarters and he needs time to talk to his colleagues, the sources said to IANS.
