Tablighi Jamaat members hid in 16 different Mosques in Delhi

New Delhi, Apr 04: The security agencies had a Herculean task ahead of them to hunt down those who attended the Tablighi Jamaat convention in Delhi last month. At least 60 per cent of the coronavirus cases in the country are being attributed to the congregation.

The first big task was to evacuate the Jamaat headquarters, where there were around 2,300 people. It was at this time that the agencies learnt that several foreigners had gone missing and it was later found that most of them were staying in different Mosques across the city.

The police drew out a list of around 16 Mosques and sought the help of the Delhi government in locating these persons. The Delhi Police learnt that there were around 180 foreigners who had shifted to the different Mosques in the city. Apart from searching the Mosques, the police also managed to locate with the help of the local officials 600 foreigners linked to the Jamaat.

The police say that they are in the lookout for 200 more. Meanwhile the authorities have managed to place the Jamaat workers in government run quarantine facilities across the national capital. The process of testing those found in the Mosques will be completed today. This is a crucial stage as if any of these persons test positive, then the worry is how many more would these persons have infected. This is another trail that the agencies would be on.

On Friday, Delhi reported 386 cases of which 259 were related to the Jamaat. Further six deaths in Delhi are also linked to the Tablighi Jamaat. The days ahead will be a nightmare for the authorities to ensure that the spread by the Tablighi members does not go out of control.