257 Nizamuddin congregation attendees traced in HP so far; all of them quarantined

A total of 257 attendees of the religious congregation held in Delhi's Nizamuddin last month have been traced in Himachal Pradesh so far and placed under quarantine, Director General of Police Sitaram Mardi said on Saturday.

They were identified and quarantined in seven police districts, SP (Law and Order) Khushal Sharma said.

The number stood at 204 on Friday.

On Saturday, 30 attendees were traced in Kangra district and 23 in Sirmaur, Mardi said.

The highest number of people were quarantined in Baddi (73), followed by Sirmaur (58), Una (39), Shimla (23), Chamba (20), Kangra (40) and Mandi (4), he added.

The Nizamuddin Markaz is being seen as a hotspot of coronavirus in the country as thousands of people, including hundreds of foreigners, many of whom were suspected to be COVID-19 positive, took part in the congregation organised by the Tablighi Jamaat.

"The 257 people who returned to the state after attending the gathering in Nizamuddin have been traced and quarantined," the DGP said.

Three Himachal Pradesh residents, who had participated in the Nizamuddin event, tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday.

They were staying in Una but are natives of Mandi district. They have been admitted to Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College (RPGMS) in Kangra district, officials said.

According to some reports, the Union home ministry, a few days ago, sent a list of more than 700 people from Himachal Pradesh who attended the congregation in the national capital.

The list has reportedly been prepared after tracking the mobile phone location data of those who were present at the Markaz. However, despite repeated queries by the media, no one from the state police confirmed or denied the reports.