48 from U'khand attended Nizamuddin congregation

At least 48 members of Tablighi Jamaat from Uttarakhand attended the Nizamuddin Markaz in March causing concern among authorities who are also trying to reach its 650 other members who travelled to the state from outside since January this year.

At least 48 members of the Jamaat attended the Nizamuddin Markaz during March out of which 19 were from Dehradun district and 29 from Haridwar, Intelligence Department sources here said.

Twenty-six of them are still in Delhi, DG (Law and Order) Ashok Kumar said.

The rest may have moved to other states from the congregation at Nizamuddin, intelligence officials said.

They also said efforts are underway to reach 650 members of Tabligh-e-Jamaat who travelled to Uttarakhand from outside since January this year.

Seventeen Jamaats numbering over 300 members from outside the state are scattered at different places across Uttarakhand at present, apart from around 341 from the state who have returned home after attending religious congregations in different states since January, Intelligence Department sources said.

These jamaats are located mostly in Dehradun, Haridwar, Ramnagar and Haldwani, they said.

Twenty-two jamaat members from Nizamuddin Markaz, mostly residents of Delhi, arrived in two separate batches at two mosques at Mallital and Ramnagar in Nainital district during March.

Eight people came into contact with them. All of them have been identified and are being screened and quarantined, the sources said.

Three people from Uttarkashi and four from Almora attended the Nizamuddin Markaz since January.

Though hundreds of people attended the Nizamuddin Markaz since January the focus is on those who attended it during the month of March which saw a spike in coronavirus cases countrywide.

All jamaat members who attended the Nizamuddin congregation or went to other states including Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh since January till date have been identified.

According to a list issued by the Intelligence Department, some groups have returned to Uttarakhand while others are yet to return.

All district magistrates, SPs and SSPs have been furnished with information on such Jamaat members and asked to act accordingly, they said.