Rise in coronavirus cases since Tue due to Delhi mosque event: Govt

India's count of coronavirus cases has increased since Tuesday because of travelers who attended a gathering at a Delhi mosque last month, said the government as it denied a spurt in the infection.

Lav Agarwal, joint secretary in the health ministry, said 134 coronavirus cases were linked to the Tablighi Jamaat, the Islamic group which organised the gathering in mid-March before the 21-day lockdown was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"There were 386 new coronavirus cases since Tuesday--one of the main reasons for it is the travel by members of Tablighi Jamaat,” said Agarwal. "As many as 1,800 people related to the group have been sent to hospitals and quarantine centers," he added.

Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Minority Affairs Minister, has called the Tablighi Jamaat’s congregation at its headquarters in Delhi’s Nizamuddin between March 13 and 15 a “Taliban crime”.

"When the entire country is together to fight coronavirus, in such circumstances, such a thing is a crime. Not just the law, but even the almighty will not forgive such a thing. It is very unfortunate that the lives of so many people were endangered because of such a careless approach,” he said.

Media reports said the congregation had made Nizamuddin a “hotspot" for coronavirus, but the Jamaat has said the event was held with police permission.

The area was on Wednesday cleared and the building was vacated after the Delhi government sprung to action.