Over 100 Hindus in Chhattisgarh Tablighi isolation list, complain of social boycott

The Chhattisgarh High Court has directed the state government to launch an 'intensive search' to trace 52 persons who had returned from Tablighi Jamaat Markaz of Nizamuddin, Delhi.

On the basis of the list of 159 people who allegedly returned to Chhattisgarh from Nizamuddin's Tablighi Jamaat Markaz, 108 petitioners are non-Muslims, BBC News Hindi website has reported.

During the hearing on the petitions related to Covid-19, it was submitted by the petitioner that information about those who returned to the Chhattisgarh state after attending Nizamuddin's Tablighi Jamaat Markaz has not been investigated before the court.

The petitioner's counsel told the court that out of the 159 Tablighi Jamaat members who returned to Chhattisgarh, only 107 persons have been tested, out of which only 87 reports have been received. Thus, 23 people whose test reports are awaited and 52 people who have not been tested; if they are infected with Covid-19, it may be the reason for expansion of Covid-19 in Chhattisgarh state, says the BBC report.

After this, the court ordered a 'vigorous search operation' for 52 missing people of Tabligi Jamaat and status of the test report of 23 people.

108 non-Muslims in the list of 159

The petitioner's lawyer Gautam Kshetrapal has provided a list of 159 people who returned from Chhattisgarh from Nizamuddin's Tablighi Jamaat Markaz, out of which 108 are non-Muslims, says the BBC report. Everyone's name, address and cellphone number are recorded in this list. Most of these people said that they have nothing to do with the Tablighi Jamaat or the religion of Islam, as per the report. However, all the people had visited Delhi in the second-third week of March and after returning from Delhi, at the behest of the health department, the houses are in quarantine.

Srikumar Pandey (name changed) from Bilaspur, who was included in this list, told the BBC, "I am a Brahmin man. What do I have to do with the people of Tabligi Jamaat? I did go to Delhi in March but not Markaz of Tabligi Jamaat.Yes, the train that I took for Bilaspur was definitely caught at Nizamuddin railway station. After returning from Delhi, police and Department of Health asked me to remain at home."

Jaideep Kaur of Raipur also denied that he had any contact with the Tablighi Jamaat.

He said, "For the first time I heard the name of Tablighi Jamaat on TV recently. I returned from Delhi on March 16 and when I came back, the police and health department people asked me to stay at home for 14 days.”

Mohammed Zubair of Durg said that he has nothing to do with the Tabligis and has not been involved in any event of Tabligi Jamaat this year.

State Health Minister TS Singhdev told BBC that most such people are those who passed around Nizamuddin or who caught the train from Nizamuddin railway station, as per their mobile phone records, and they were asked to take precautions because of that.

But Prem Kumar Sahu, who is included in the list of these 159 people, has objected that this list was presented in such a way that he belongs to the Tablighi Jamaat.

He said, "The health department and the police collected information for our health, for our good only. They advised home isolation, but this inquiry made us look suspicious in the locality."