Foreign nationals at Tablighi Jamaat violating visa rules face punitive action: Govt sources

Foreign nationals, who attended a congregation of the Tablighi Jamaat in the national capital, will face punitive action if they are found to have participated in the gathering violating visa rules, government sources said on Wednesday.

The Ministry of External Affairs has already informed Indian missions in the countries from where they came to India.

Sources said appropriate action will be taken by relevant authorities against the foreign nationals if there have been violations of the laws of the land by them.

They said if needed, the ministry of external affairs will extend its cooperation to agencies handling the issue.

Thousands of Tablighi Jamaat members gathered at its headquarters in Nizamuddin, ignoring warnings by the government against large gatherings.

A number of people who attended the congregation were found to be having coronavirus infection and a sizeable number then travelled to different states, spreading the infection of the virus.

Authorities across states have identified over 6,000 people who attended the congregation and more than 5,000 of them have been quarantined. Efforts are on to trace another 2,000 including in Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Telangana.

Hundreds of people have been evicted from the headquarters of Tablighi in Nizamuddin in the last three days.