The 14-day coronavirus COVID-19 quarantine period of Tablighi Jamaat chief Maulana Saad Kandhalvi and six others ended on Monday (April 13) and it is expected that Delhi Police would soon ask Maulana Saad to join a probe into allegations that the Jamaat chief encouraged people to defy the lockdown and social distancing norms and congregate at Markaz Nizamuddin.
The 56-year-old Maulana Saad had been under quarantine at an unknown location since March 28. On April 8, Maulana Saad's lawyer had said that he will join the probe after the end of quarantine period. According to Delhi Police, the Jamaat chief ignored two notices to vacate the Markaz building located in south Delhi's Nizamuddin.
On March 23, Maulana Saad had delivere da sermon at Markaz in which he had called social distancing warnings a conspiracy to create divide among Muslims. "Where will you run from death? Death is in front of you...This is an occasion to seek penance from God. Not an occasion where one comes under the influence of doctors and stops Namaaz, meeting each other...Yes, there is a virus. But 70,000 angels are with me and if they can't save me, who will? This is the time for more such gatherings, not the time to avoid each other...," Maulana Saad said in the sermon, the audio clip of which is currently with Delhi Police.
Later, Maulana Saad released a audio statement urging his followers to follow the guidelines of the government on curbing the spread of coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. In the audio, the Jamaat chief had also claimed that he was in self-isolation after a doctor's advice.
It is to be noted that over a thousand COVID-19 cases have been recorded across the country to people linked with the gathering at Markaz Nizamuddin and more than 25,500 Jamaatis have been quarantined in Delhi.
