The Maharashtra Government had denied permission to Tablighi Jamaat to organise a religious congregation at Suncity in Vasai after 2 cases of Wuhan Coronavirus were reported in the State, reported The Indian Express.
The Tablighi Jamaat had planned to gather over 50,000 people on March 12-13 at Suncity in Vasai.
As per the report, the state government had initially given permission for the Islamic congregation on February 6. The change of heart was the result of the precautionary measure, following the outbreak of the disease in the state. Home Minister Anil Deshmukh has stated that they had warned Tablighi Jamaat of legal action when the latter insisted to go ahead with the religious gathering.
Niket Kaushik, Inspector General (Konkan range) said, “Accordingly, we revoked the permission on March 6 and informed them about the same.” A Tablighi Jamaat member also informed that they had plans of organising similar religious congregations in Pune, Ratnagiri, and Raigad in Maharashtra.
Reportedly, 12 members of the group had been booked by the Rabodi police station in Thane for violating lockdown orders and gathering for prayers. An FIR was also filed against 15 Bangladeshi nationals and 10 Malaysian citizens who had visited the Nizamuddin mosque in Delhi. According to Housing Minister Mumbra Jitendra Awhad, all of them have been placed under home quarantine as of now.
Earlier, the passports of 211 foreign nationals, out of 287, who had attended the religious congregation organised by Tablighi Jamaat at Nizamuddin Markaz between March 13 and March 15 have been seized by law enforcement authorities. These foreigners have been hiding in different mosques in the State of Uttar Pradesh. A total of 34 First Information Reports (FIRs) have been registered against them.
The Home Ministry has now revoked the visas of 960 foreign nationals who had violated visa norms while participating in Tablighi activities in India.
It was also reported that a whopping 60% (295 persons) out of the new 485 confirmed positive cases of Wuhan Coronavirus detected within a single day on Thursday had attended the Nizamuddin Markaz organised by the Tablighi Jamaat. The event was held between March 13 and March 15 and saw a footfall of thousands. Even after the event, thousands of Jamaat members had continued to gather in the Nizamuddin Markaz Mosque in Delhi.