Coronavirus COVID-19: Delhi Police issues Lookout Circulars against 1890 foreigners belonging to Tablighi Jamaat

Delhi Police Crime Branch on Wendesday (April 15) issued Lookout Circualrs (LOC) against 1890 foreigners belonging to Tablighi Jamaat. Sources told Zee Media that all these foreigners had violated the visa rules by participating in religious activities in different parts of the country. Delhi Police team is searching these foreigners on the basis of their locations.

Crime branch has managed to apprehend 1,500 people who had visited Jamaat's Markaz building in Nizamuddin during March. It includes 400 Jamaatis from outside country who were living at different mosques in Delhi's Malviya Nagar, Shastri Park, Welcome, Chandni Mahal, Turkman Gate, Hauz Rani.

It is learnt that Delhi Police's Crime Branch has also issued notice to 18 people associated with Jamaat to join a probe into allegations that the Jamaat chief Maulana Saad encouraged people to defy the lockdown and social distancing norms and congregate at Markaz Nizamuddin.

Meanwhile, the 14-day coronavirus COVID-19 quarantine period of Tablighi Jamaat chief Maulana Saad Kandhalvi and six others ended on Monday (April 13) and it is expected that Delhi Police would soon ask Maulana Saad to join a probe in connection with this case.

The 56-year-old Maulana Saad had been under quarantine at an unknown location since March 28. On April 8, Maulana Saad's lawyer had said that he will join the probe after the end of quarantine period. According to Delhi Police, the Jamaat chief ignored two notices to vacate the Markaz building located in south Delhi's Nizamuddin.

On March 23, Maulana Saad had delivere da sermon at Markaz in which he had called social distancing warnings a conspiracy to create divide among Muslims. "Where will you run from death? Death is in front of you...This is an occasion to seek penance from God. Not an occasion where one comes under the influence of doctors and stops Namaaz, meeting each other...Yes, there is a virus. But 70,000 angels are with me and if they can't save me, who will? This is the time for more such gatherings, not the time to avoid each other...," Maulana Saad said in the sermon, the audio clip of which is currently with Delhi Police.