16 mosques in Delhi that hosted members of Tablighi Jamaat congregation disinfected

The Tablighi Jamaat headquarters has emerged as the biggest Covid-19 hot spot in India so far, with at least 53 people from there testing positive for Covid-19 in the Capital alone.

At least 16 mosques, which were earlier identified by Delhi Police for having housed around 150 foreign nationals and over 20 Indians who were a part of the Tablighi Jamaat congregation in Nizamuddin earlier this month, were sanitised on Wednesday.

Delhi Government public health employees leave after a sanitization drive at the Alami Markaz Banglewali Masjid area. (Biplov Bhuyan/HT PHOTO)

The Tablighi Jamaat headquarters has emerged as the biggest Covid-19 hot spot in India so far, with at least 53 people from there testing positive for Covid-19 in the Capital alone, and more than 500 in hospital for showing Covid-like symptoms.

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More than 1,800 people who attended the congregation have been placed in quarantine in the city.

The 16 mosques are located in areas such as Pul Prahladpur, Malviya Nagar, Shastri Park, Chandni Mahal and Turkman Gate in Old Delhi. Several foreign nationals -- from countries including Indonesia, Malaysia and Kyrgyzstan — who visisted the Jammat’s headquarters this month were staying in these mosques.

At one of the mosques in Old Delhi’s Chandni Mahal, 15 pilgrims from the Jamaat’s Markaz building — five couples from Indonesia, four men from Algeria, and an Indian national from Hyderabad — have been quarantined on the third floor of the masjid.

“They have been here since the lockdown was announced. They are in complete isolation. They cook their own food on the third floor and even offer namaz there. None of them have shown any symptoms. The health officials had come to visit them on Wednesday and gave them a form that was to be filled, if anyone fell sick,” said Shakeel Ahmed, president of the masjid committee.

On Wednesday evening, the local police held a meeting with the heads (Imams) of all mosques in the Walled City area at the Jama Masjid police station to discuss measures that needed to be taken.

“The police have asked us to not let anyone come inside the mosque premises and maintain hygiene. We had already shut the masjid and nobody is allowed to come in, even for namaz. The police have also collected the passports of the pilgrims and a letter has been sent to the respective embassies,” said Mohammad Ali, imam of the Chandni Mahal mosque.

Hafiz Mohammad Javed, a social worker and a representative of the masjid committee, said that he had earlier advised the Markaz authorities of taking precautions as well. “We had told them to take all precautionary measures. However, it was only later that they realised that some people were feeling unwell,” said Javed.

At least 12 Indonesia nationals arrived in south Delhi’s Hauz Rani and Malviya Nagar areas on March 30, said Haji Kallu, the president of the masjid committee. These people, Kallu added, have been quarantined at the mosque. “They came to the mosque on March 30; we don’t know where they stayed before that. We immediately informed the area sub-divisional magistrate and the police about them. They came and checked their visa and passport details/”

Less than a kilometre away, 13 Kyrgyzstan nationals and one Indian, all members of the Tablighi Jammat, moved to another mosque in the area on March 22.

Mohd Aslam, a member of Tablighi Jammat associated with the mosque, said, “Their details were shared with the local authorities. The medical team visited the mosque on March 30. We have kept these people on two separate floors of the mosque as per directions of the medical team. We are not entering the mosque and providing them food and other stuff from outside.”

In the Shastri Park area, at least 35 people were shifted to a quarantine facility from two mosques.In Wazirabad, 15 people, including 12 Indonesian nationals, were quarantined inside the area’s Jama Masjid mosque, said an official.

Syed Ahmed Bukhari, the Shahi Imam of Delhi’s Jama Masjid said: “I have informed people in the community, especially in mosques, that wherever members of the Jamaat are staying, they should inform the district administration and local police and get those people tested. If someone is staying in their house, even then you should get the person tested. The measures taken by the government are for the welfare of the people. We had closed Jama Masjid for prayers for the general public due to the disease on March 23, after which all other mosques in the city had followed suit.”