Separate jails for Jamaatis, corona suspects in Uttar Pradesh

The Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh has decided to set up 23 temporary jails in various districts to lodge Tablighi Jamaat members and suspected COVID-19 positive persons who have been arrested during police raids.

The decision was taken after six inmates of Moradabad jail tested positive on Tuesday, leading to the possibility of other prisoners also getting infected.

Five out of the six who tested positive for Corona are those have been arrested for attack on a medical team in Moradabad on April 15.

Additional Chief Secretary (home) Avanish Awasthi said that in a fortnight-long drive, the state police have identified 3,000 Tablighi Jamaat members in 20 districts who arrived in Uttar Pradesh after attending the congregation organized in Nizamuddin Markaz in Delhi.

The samples of all the Tablighi Jamaat members and their family members and contacts were sent for laboratory test.

The report released by the state health department on Tuesday said out of the 1184 positive cases in the state, 814 were members of Tablighi Jamaat.

The state police registered cases against the Tablighi Jamaat members, he said.

The police have also arrested 325 Tablighi Jamaat members who arrived from foreign countries. The cops registered 45 FIRs against them and seized their passports for violation of visa norms.

All the Tablighi Jamaat members of foreign origin would also be lodged in temporary jails, the additional chief secretary home said.

The state police are continuing to carry out raids in various districts to search for suspected Tablighi Jamaat members and suspected Corona positive people who are in hiding.