The FIR against the Delhi head of the Tablighi Jamaat centre, Maulana Mohammed Saad, and six other office-bearers charges them with “deliberately and wilfully” allowing a huge gathering on the premises that threatened the lives of inmates.
The FIR, registered on March 31 at the Crime Branch police station in Pushp Vihar on the complaint of the SHO of Nizamuddin police station, states that the centre violated lockdown orders and did not maintain social distancing during the COVID-19 outbreak in the city.
It states that the building was inspected by the Defence Colony Sub-Divisional Magistrate from March 26 to 30 and the occupants in the building were found violating social distancing rules and not using hand sanitisers and face masks to protect themselves and others from infection. The SDM found around 1,300 people, including foreign nationals, residing in it.
In his complaint, the SHO of Nizamuddin police station mentioned that on March 21, the authorities of Jamaat centre were contacted by Delhi Police and reminded about the March 16 Delhi government order prohibiting any political or religious gathering of more than 50 people.
The Jamaat was directed to send the foreign delegates to their congregation back to their respective countries and Indians to their respective cities. However, the FIR states, no one paid any heed to the direction of Delhi Police.
“On March 24 a meeting was held at Hazrat Nizamuddin police station between the SHO and officer-bearers of Tablighi Jamaat,” the FIR also states.
The FIR also refers to an audio recording purportedly of Maulana Saad in circulation on WhatsApp on March 21, in which the speaker is heard asking his followers to defy the lockdown and social distancing and to attend religious gatherings of the organisation.
Data mining
A Delhi Police officer said extensive data mining has been carried out to identify each individual who attended the religious congregation or stayed in the building.
“We are preparing the list of their contacts and of those they met. We are preparing the profile of each individual and sharing it with the State police concerned. Most of the people who attended the congregation went back either by bus or train,” said the officer.
Notices served
He added that they have served notices to all seven persons mentioned in the FIR to join the investigation.
In a press release issued on Tuesday, the Tablighi Jamaat said that the ongoing programme at Nizamuddin markaz (centre) was discontinued immediately when the Prime Minister announced the ‘Janata Curfew’ for March 22.
“However, due to the sudden cancellation of rail services across the country on March 21, 2020, a large group of visitors who had to depart by way of railways got stuck on the markaz premises,” it said.
