Tablighi Jamaat probe: Delhi Police commissioner meets Union Home Secy

Delhi Police Commissioner S N Shrivastava on Monday met Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla amidst massive efforts to track down many Tablighi Jamaat members who continue to hide' in different parts of the national capital, officials said.

The search for the Tablighi Jamaat members was launched after over 2,300 activists, including 250 foreigners, were found to be living at its headquarters located at Delhi's Nizamuddin last week despite the 21-day lockdown imposed to check the spread of coronavirus.

About 9,000 people had participated in a congregation of the Tablighi Jamaat last month.

The Delhi Police commissioner briefed the home secretary on the progress of the ongoing probe against the Tablighi Jamaat, a home ministry official said.

The Crime Branch of the Delhi Police has already registered a case against the organisation while most of its top leaders, including chief Maulana Saad Kandhlawi, are hiding from police.

Identification and interrogation of all those who participated in the congregation is necessary for contact tracing, the official said.

Besides, the gathering of such a large number of people at a particular place is also violation of the lockdown order.

The Delhi police commissioner apprised the home secretary all the relevant issues related to the investigation, another official said.

On Sunday, eight Malaysians, who tried to board a Kuala Lumpur-bound special flight, were detained at the IGI airport here and handed over to the Delhi Police.

The government has already blacklisted over 1,700 foreigners for violation of visa conditions.

So far, more than 400 COVID-19 positive cases and about 15 deaths in the country were found to have links with the Nizamuddin Markaz.

At least 9,000 people had participated in the congregation at the Nizamuddin Markaz last month after which many travelled to various parts of the country for missionary works.

Among the participants include citizens of 41 nationalities. They are 379 Indonesians, 110 Bangladeshis, 77 Kyrgyzstan nationals, 75 Malaysians, 65 Thai, 63 Myanmarese and 33 Sri Lankan citizens besides others.

The home ministry had also asked the Delhi Police and police chiefs of other states, where these foreigners are currently living, to take legal action against them under the Foreigners Act and the Disaster Management Act.

The Home Ministry had said that about 2,100 foreigners have come to India since January 1 and indulged in Tablighi activities in different parts of the country.