Eight people were caught at the Delhi IGI airport on Sunday trying to flee to Malaysia. All of them have been identified as Malaysian nationals and are suspected to be hiding their participation in the recent Tablighi Jamaat event in Nizamuddin.

The 8 Malaysians were trying to board a relief flight that was going to Malaysia from India. The group was trying to board a Malindo Airways flight amid the ongoing lockdown in the country in which all passenger flights have been suspended.

Sources say these 8 people were hiding in different parts of Delhi and gathered at the airport on Sunday to flee the country. They may have attended the Nizamuddin event earlier in March.

The 8 people are now being questioned. The group may be handed over to the Delhi Police and health department officials for further action.

Over 2,000 delegates, including foreigners from Indonesia and Malaysia, attended the Tablighi Jamaat congregation in Nizamuddin West from March 1-15. The south Delhi neighbourhood was virtually sealed off after several hundred in the gathering tested positive.

There are 301 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Delhi that originated at the Nizamuddin event where the huge number of people stayed at the Markaz building in clusters for days before Delhi Police finally cleared them out.

Nizamuddin has now become the latest hotspot in India from where the virus has spread to several states.

The number of coronavirus cases mounted to 445 in Delhi on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the Home Ministry has blacklisted 960 foreigners and cancelled their tourist visas over the Tablighi Jamaat event.