8 Kyrgyz Jamaat members shifted from Sangam Park

NEW DELHI: Eight Kyrgyzstan nationals, who are suspected of attending the Tablighi Jamaat congregation earlier this month in south Delhi’s Hazrat Nizamuddin area, were evacuated from a house in northwest Delhi’s Sangam Park on Tuesday and were sent to a quarantine facility, the police said.

The eight foreigners were living in a rented house near Bharat Nagar since early March, they added. Police said they have also booked the landlord for not informing the police before renting the house to foreigners.

DCP (northwest) Vijayanta Arya said the eight Kyrgyzstan nationals have been sent to a quarantine centre after they were screened at a hospital. Their samples were also collected and tested for coronavirus disease (Covid-19). “The eight persons showed some symptoms of the infection,” said Arya, adding that only health officials would confirm the health status of the eight foreigners.

The DCP said police came to know about the Kyrgyzstan nationals through their sources.

“We cordoned off the area and informed the authorities about the foreign nationals who were suspected to have attended the congregation at the Markaz in Nizamuddin. The foreigners were evacuated and taken to a hospital so that they could be screened and tested,” the DCP said. She said the eight Kyrgyzstan nationals were staying in Delhi since early March.

A police officer, not authorised to speak to media, said the foreigners told the police and health officials that they were supposed to return home on March 16 but could leave due to the travel curbs. “They said the Tablighi Jamaat authorities had arranged the rented accommodation for them,” the officer said.

“We are going through the markaz’s records to see who all left the premises before the screening began. We have asked all our district teams to look for such people,” an official from Delhi’s health department said requesting anonymity.

Model Town MLA Akhilesh Pati Tripathi, said he had informed the police and the district magistrate on Tuesday about foreigners living in Sangam Park.