17 M’sians held in India for allegedly misusing their visas

PETALING JAYA: Seventeen Malaysians who took part in a recent tabligh gathering in New Delhi have been detained in India for supposedly misusing their visas, says Deputy Foreign Minister Datuk Kamaruddin Jaafar.

The Malaysians were detained under three Indian acts – the National Disaster Management act, the Foreigners Act 1946 and the Indian penal code, he said.

“Wisma Putra is identifying the problem and getting the real story behind the issue, in particular from the Indian side.

“We take their welfare seriously and will ensure that they are doing fine,” Kamaruddin said at a press conference yesterday that was streamed live on Facebook.

He hoped that people would not politicise the issue or link it to religion, as this might cause misunderstandings in society and complicate their negotiations with India.

He added that 191 Malaysians who joined the tabligh gathering were being quarantined in hospitals or centres in the country.

He said the Malaysian consulate in New Delhi had given assistance to the Malaysians involved.

According to Reuters, Indian police have brought charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder against the chief of the Tablighi Jamaat group for holding a gathering last month, which authorities claim led to a big jump in Covid-19 infections.

The group’s headquarters in Delhi were sealed and thousands of its followers were taken into quarantine after it emerged that they had attended meetings there in midMarch.