The crisis triggered by the Nizamuddin congregation organised by Tablighi Jamaat — an Islamic movement — could be much bigger than what appears right now. Many who participated in the congregation, which began at the end of February, have been tested positive for coronavirus.
Top sources in the government have said an elaborate exercise is now on to identify and zero in on the status of over 2,000 foreign nationals, from over a dozen countries, who had participated in Tablighi event at Nizamuddin.
Sources said that the hunt is not restricted to the Indonesians.
The foreigners who participated in the Tablighi Jamaat event included nationals from Bangladesh, Thailand, Malaysia and over a dozen other countries.
This exercise started after the Delhi Police managed to get the list of participants from the organisers and handed it over to various agencies for tracking and follow-up purposes. The developments have led to the launch of a large manhunt across India.
Sources say searches are on for hundreds of people who attended the religious event in Delhi that has triggered several Covid-19 clusters.
Sources say that while nearly 825 of these, by March 21, had dispersed to different parts of the country, 215 odd were staying at the Nizamuddin Markaz.
Authorities are now trying to verify the number and identity the foreigners who might have already left the country before March 22 when India announced closing down its international air traffic movement.
About 2,100 foreign nationals visited Tablighi Jammat headquarters this year and 824 visited different states for preaching.
Leave a Reply