Coronavirus | Screen Rohingya and their contacts who attended the Tablighi Jamaat event, Home Ministry tells States

Advisory comes after reports of refugees’ visits to Nizamuddin event and other gatherings

People leave for hospitals from the Markaz at Nizamuddin after showing symptoms of COVID-19. Photo: File

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has informed States that “Rohingya Muslims” and their contacts may need to be screened for COVID-19 infection as some of them in Telengana, Delhi, Punjab and Jammu attended the Tablighi Jamaat event at Nizamuddin in March.

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The Centre has reiterated that those affected by the coronavirus should not be identified by their religion and has cautioned against religious polarisation.

In a letter dated April 15, MHA wrote to all States and Union Territories,stating that “It has been reported that Rohingya Muslims attended

iltejamas (congregations) and other religious congregations of Tablighi Jamaat and there is a possibility of their contracting COVID-19.”

It said Rohingya residing in camps in Hyderabad had attended Tablighi Jamaat congregation at Mewat in Haryana and had visited Nizamuddin markaz (centre) in Delhi. It further said Rohingya living in Shram Vihar near Shaheen Bagh in Delhi had also gone for Tablighi activities and have not returned to their camps.

Also read: Number of cases doubled in 4.1 days due to Tablighi Jamaat event, says Health Ministry

“Also, presence of Rohingya Muslims after attending Tablighi Jamaat work has also been presently reported from Derabassi in Punjab and Jammu area,” the letter said.

Period of visit not specified

The letter, however, did not specify the period when the Rohingya visited the Nizamuddin markaz.

The foreign members of Tablighi Jamaat, a religious group are under the scanner of security agencies for participating in religious conferences and meetings even though they came here on a tourist visa. Many who either attended or were contacts of those who attended the congregation at centre in Delhi’s Nizamuddin in March have tested positive for COVID-19 so far.

After alerts were sent by Telengana and J&K, MHA wrote to all States on March 21 to “identify, screen and quarantine” foreign Tablighi Jamaat members who were travelling to different parts of the country.

Rohingya belong to Rakhine in Mayanmar and more than a million have taken refuge in Bangladesh and some in India following an ethnic campaign against them.

On February 11, Government informed the Parliament that the exact number of Rohingyas living in India is not known “since illegal migrants enter into the country without valid travel documents in clandestine and surreptitious manner.”

But according to an estimate by MHA, there are around 40,000 Rohingya in India, of which around 5,700 are in Jammu. Of the total, only 16,000 are said to be registered with the United Nations.