NEW DELHI: Around 1,800 people, including 250 foreign nationals, were lodged at Tablighi Jamaat ’s Nizamuddin Markaz facility with many showing symptoms of COVID-19 even though their test results are awaited.

The foreign nationals, mostly preachers who come to the Tablighi headquarters here and make onward journey to other parts of the country to deliver sermons on Islam, belong to different countries, include those that have had an outbreak of the pandemic. Interestingly, these foreigners are here on a tourist visa. Sources told TOI that delivering religious sermons is a “strong violation” of their visa conditions and makes them liable to legal action that would include debarring them from entering the country again.

Some of the preachers staying at Nizamuddin had travelled to Malaysia for an international Tablighi event held at Selangor earlier this month or had come in contact with people who were there at that. Besides, a large congregation at the Nizamuddin markaz for Aalami Mashwara on March 14-15 is believed to been the source of passing on of COVID-19 virus to a large number of attendees.

One of the earliest COVID-positive cases traced back to Tablighi Jamaat was in Karimnagar, Telangana, and involved a man who had come in contact with group of preachers from Indonesia. A foreigner linked to Tablighi Jamaat also tested positive in Hyderabad.

Elaborating on violation of visa conditions by the 250 foreigners lodged at the seven-storey Nizamuddin facility, an officer said: “One cannot deliver religious sermons while on a tourist visa. For this, a missionary visa Is required. While the matter has been taken up with Tablighi Jamaat authorities multiple times earlier, they have not paid heed. They also argue that many foreigners visiting ashrams across the country also come on a tourist visa. But the point here is that they don’t deliver religious sermons, whereas Tablighi Jamaat preachers travel all over the country doing that. This is a strong violation and makes them liable for action, which includes putting them in the blacklist that would debar them from entering India,” said an officer.

