G. Kishan Reddy, Minister of State for Home, has said in reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha that members of the Tablighi Jamaat were responsible for spreading the Wuhan Coronavirus. He also said that 2361 people have been evacuated from Nizamuddin Headquarters of the Tablighi Jamaat since the 29th of March.
In response to a question whether “a major reason of spread of corona in Delhi and other States was assembly of Tablighi jamaat people”, Reddy replied, “As reported by Delhi Police, despite guidelines/ orders issued by various authorities in pursuance of the outbreak of COVID-19, a huge gathering assembled inside a closed premise; over a protracted period of time; without any semblance of social distancing or provision of masks and sanitizers. This also caused spread of Corona Virus infection amongst many persons.”
Reddy also said that 233 people associated with the Tablighi Jamaat have been arrested by the Delhi Police but investigations into Nizamuddin Markaz chief Maulana Saad is still under way. A case has been registered against him by Delhi Police, under sections 304, 308, 336, 188, 269, 270, 271 and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code, Section 14-B of the Foreigners Act 1946, Section 3 of the Epidemic Diseases Act 1897 and Section 51/58 Disaster Management Act 2005.
The Tablighi Jamaat time bomb erupted across the country in the last week of March when around 200 people with Wuhan Coronavirus symptoms were admitted to various hospitals in Delhi from the Markaz Nizamuddin and surrounding places. Subsequently, the area around the Markaz Nizamuddin was cordoned off by the Delhi Police. Soon, cases began to erupt across the country with links to the Tablighi Jamaat and the country stood horrified as the magnitude of the Islamic Missionary organization’s transgressions became known.