ED mulls money-laundering probe against Maulana
Asks states to take appropriate legal action
Indian Air Force (IAF) airlifts around 6.2 tonnes of essential medicines and hospital consumables onboard C-130 aircraft during Operation Sanjeevani from India to the Maldives, in New Delhi.
New Delhi, April 2: The government on Thursday blacklisted 960 foreigners and cancelled their visas after finding that theywere involved in Tablighi Jamaat activities violating their visa conditions.
The home minister’s office asked Delhi Police and police chiefs of other states, where these foreigners are currently living, to take legal action against them under the Foreigners Act and the Disaster Management Act.
“The home ministry has blacklisted 960 foreigners and their Indian visas have also been cancelled for their involvement in Tablighi Jamaat activities while coming on tourist visas,” the home minister’s office tweeted in Hindi.
Action against the foreign Tablighi Jamaat members was taken afterover 2,300 activists, including 250 foreigners, of the Islamic organisationwere found to be living at its headquarters located at Delhi's Nizamuddin despite the 21 days lockdown.
More than 300 of these Tablighi Jamaat activists were tested positive for COVID-19 while others were put in different quarantine centres.
At least 9,000 people had participated at a congregation at the Nizamuddin Markaz last month and after that many of them have travelled to various parts of the country for missionary works.
So far, a total of about 400 Covid-19 cases and about 12 deaths in the country were found to have links with the Nizamuddin Markaz.
The home ministry on Tuesday had said that about 2,100 foreigners had come to India since January 1 and indulged in Tablighi activities in different parts of the country. On Thursday the ministry said 1,300 foreign Tablighi Jamaat activists, including those from the US, France and Italy, have been identified in different parts of the country and most of them have been put in quarantine.
In a significant development, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) is contemplating initiating money laundering probe against Maulana Saad and Tablighi Jamaat to trace their source of funds, including foreign funding, if any.
According to sources, ED sleuths are in touch with Delhi police in this regard. Delhi police has registered an FIR against Maulana Saad and other members of the Tablighi Jamaat under the Epidemic Disease Act, 1897 and relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for violating government directions prohibiting public gatherings and maintaining social distance to contain the spread of coronavirus.
“It is suspected that Tablighi Jamaat has links with certain Pakistan and Afghanistan-based organisations. Investigation agencies in the country are probing their suspected links with foreign organisations, including Al Qaeda,” sources said adding the ED is also scrutinising details of foreign nationals who had attended the gathering organized by Jamaat at Nizamuddin.
Sources said thousands of Indian nationals apart from 824 foreign nationals attended the gathering of Markaz at Nizamuddin.
Earlier, between 27 February and 1 March 2020, Jamaat organised an international mass religious gathering at the Sri Petaling Mosque in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, which has been linked to more than 600 Covid-19 cases.