17 foreign nationals associated with the Tablighi Jamaat have been sent to jail in Bahraich, Uttar Pradesh on Saturday. The Jamaatis are from Indonesia and Thailand. The foreign nationals were part of the 21 Jamaatis who were apprehended from the Taj and Quraish Masjid in the city. They were kept under quarantine although they had tested negative for the Wuhan Coronavirus. They were later produced in front of the Magistrate after the mandated period of quarantine had ended. They have been sent to jail for violating visa and passport norms.
Superintendent of Police, Bahraich, Vipin Mishra, said that 21 members of the Tablighi Jamaat have been taken on remand. Of these, 10 are Indonesian nationals, 7 are from Thailand and 4 are Indian nationals. They have been charged for hiding themselves after returning from the Nizamuddin Markaz of the Tablighi Jamaat in Delhi. It’s said they were living in hiding after returning from the hotspot of the Wuhan Coronavirus.
The foreign nationals have been charged under sections 269, 270, 271, 188, section 03 of the Epidemic Diseases Act (1897), section 12(3) of the Passport Act (1967), sections 14(b) and 14(c) of the Foreigners Act (1946) and section 56 of the Disaster Management Act (2005).
Earlier, Madhya Pradesh had booked 64 foreign Tablighi Jamaat members who had traveled to India to attend the event at the Markaz Nizamuddin for violating Visa norms. In Meerut as well, 14 Muslim clerics were arrested from a Maulana’s residence after they were found hiding after returning from the event at the Markaz.