IAF official, who visited Nizamuddin area during Tablighi Jamaat, quarantined

A Sergeant was placed under quarantine after the Delhi Police found that he was in the area during the congregation. Two other personnel, who came in contact with him, were also quarantined.

Firefighters spray disinfectants near Nizamuddin mosque in New Delhi on Thursday. The Tablighi Jamaat headquarters has emerged as a COVID-19 hotspot./ File photo

The Indian Air Force (IAF) has placed a Sergeant under quarantine as a precaution after Delhi Police found that he had visited the Nizamuddin area during the time of the Tablighi Jamaat congregation last month.

“He came in contact with two other personnel and they all are asymptomatic. But as per procedure all three have been quarantined,” Wing Commander Indranil Nandi, IAF spokesperson, said. Investigation is on to determine if the Sergeant had actually attended the congregation, he stated. The families of the personnel have also been quarantined.

 

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The Sergeant was identified by Delhi police after they traced people who were in the Nizamuddin area using phone records as part of efforts to identify those present during the congregation.

 

 

Once the information was known, the contact list of the Sergeant was ascertained and it was identified that he contacted two more personnel, Wg. Cdr. Nandi added. Currently, the IAF is working on skeletal staff with majority working from home due to COVID-19, so the contact list is very limited.

Lockdown in Cantonment area

Meanwhile, in Lucknow, a lockdown was enforced in the entire Sadar bazar in the cantonment area after twelve people who attended the congregation in Delhi were found by the Military Intelligence (MI) taking shelter there.

“Actionable information regarding presence of a group of strangers who probably returned from Nizamuddin after attending the Tabliq-e-Jamaat was provided to the police authorities by the MI unit of Lucknow,” a defence source said.

The timely input and immediate action by the police and district administration led to the arrest of the twelve members hiding in the Pathhar Mosque of Sadar Bazar next to Lucknow cantonment, the source stated.

All the twelve people have tested positive for COVID-19, following which a lockdown was enforced in the area. The MI inputs came in time or the infections could have gone up much higher, the source stated, adding that efforts were on to ascertain “if there were more outsiders.”