The Crime Branch of Delhi Police on Tuesday lodged an FIR against Maulana Saad and others of Tablighi Jamaat for violation of government order issued in the wake of COVID-19 outbreak.
Few people, including foreign nationals, stayed in 16 mosques in the national capital, in South East, North East and other districts in the city after taking part in a religious congregation at Nizamuddin which has turned out to be a COVID-19 hotspot, officials said.
No social distancing would be possible at those places. It may cause grave danger to public health and the objective of containing COVID-19, the communique said.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said 24 people who attended the religious congregation at Tabligh-e-Jamaat Markaz earlier this month have tested positive for coronavirus, while 1,548 have been evacuated and 441 hospitalised after they showed its symptoms.
The action against Maulana apparently came after Delhi CM Kejriwal had yesterday ordered the registration of an FIR against him for leading the congregation that led to several people, who attended it.
The order was issued for restriction of social/political/religious gathering and for taking safety measures, including social distancing, for prevention and treatment of COVID-19 infection.
Meanwhile, Markaz Nizamuddin of Tablighi Jamaat in a statement claimed that turn of events was so sudden that it could not manage to vacate the premises.
It said in a statement that people from across the globe and the country come to it for 3-5 days and all programmes are decided a year in advance in order to facilitate visitors from far-off places to plan their participation.
Markaz Nizamuddin would like to humbly offer the entire premises as a quarantine facility to help the authorities tide-over the challenge of the current pandemic, it said.
