Speaking in the Rajya Sabha, Union Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy said the Tablighi Jamaat gathering in Delhi’s Nizamuddin locality in March led to the coronavirus infection spreading to “many persons”.
In response to a question whether “a major reason of spread of corona in Delhi and other States was assembly of Tablighi jamaat people”, Reddy said, “As reported by Delhi Police, despite guidelines and orders issued by various authorities due to the Covid-19 pandemic, a huge gathering assembled inside Nizamuddin Markaz over a protracted period of time and without any semblance of social distancing or provision of masks and sanitisers. “This also caused the spread of coronavirus infection amongst many persons.”
The Minister also said Delhi Police arrested 233 Tablighi Jamaat members and 2,361 people had been evacuated from the organisation’s headquarters since March 29.
“However, regarding Jamaat Chief Maulana Mohd. Saad, investigation is underway. One case relating to Tablighi gathering has been registered by Delhi Police, u/s 304/308/336/188/269/270/271/120-B IPC, Section 14-B Foreigners Act 1946, Section 3 Epidemic Diseases Act 1897 and Section 51/58 Disaster Management Act 2005,” the minister added.
