Jamaat case: 12 more charge sheets filed against foreigners

OF THE 541 FOREIGNERS CHARGESHEETED ON THURSDAY, 414 ARE FROM INDONESIA, 85 ARE FROM KYRGYZSTAN AND 42 BELONG TO MALAYSIA

nNEWDELHI: Delhi Police on Thursday filed 12 charge sheets against 541 foreign members of the Tablighi Jamaat who attended a congregation organised by the Islamic missionary group at its Nizamuddin headquarters in March. This is the third consecutive day charge sheets have been filed against foreigners in the case for violating visa conditions and Covid-19 lockdown rules, taking the total number indicted to 915.

The charge sheets filed on Thursday against foreigners from three countries ran into more than 12,000 pages, and were submitted before the duty magistrate in the Saket court. In the same case, between Tuesday and Wednesday, 35 charge sheets were filed in the same court against 374 foreigners belonging to 34 different countries. The court is to decide on their cognisanceon June 25.

The 47 charge sheets filed in the three days run into 40,908 pages.

The 915 foreigners have all been booked under Section 14 (b) of the Foreigners Act, Section 3 of the Epidemic Disease Act, Section 51 of the Disaster Management Act and four sections (188, 269, 270 and 271) of the Indian Penal Code for violating visa conditions, lockdown rules, spreading the virus, and breaking quarantine rules, the police said.

“The Central government has already blacklisted them and cancelled their visas, as all of them arrived in India on tourist visas but indulged in missionary activities , which is illegal and against the visa manuals,” said Delhi Police spokesperson Mandeep Singh Randhawa.

Randhawa said of the 541 foreigners charge-sheeted on Thursday, 414 are from Indonesia, 85 from Kyrgyzstan and 42 belong to

Malaysia.

The crime branch had filed a criminal case against Tablighi Jamaat chief Maulana Saad and six other top officials of the organisation on March 31 for defying a series of government directives, which curbed religious and large gatherings to contain the spread of Covid-19 in the national capital.

955 FOREIGNERS TO BE SHIFTED FROM QUARANTINE CENTRES

The Delhi High Court on Thursday allowed for 955 foreigners who attended the Tablighi Jamaat congregation in Nizamuddin in March from quarantine centres to alternative accommodations after the Centre, Delhi government and Delhi Police said they had no objection.

The bench of justices Vipin Sanghi and Rajnish Bhatnagar gave the order after receiving a status report from Delh’s revenue department. The report said that the central government had not arrested or detained the foreigners accused of violating visa rules and endangering lives by attending the congregation.

With inputs from Richa Banka