Coronavirus: Many cases of COVID-19 were detected among participants of an event in Nizamuddin

A Congress leader in Delhi, a former civic councillor, has been charged by the police for not disclosing that he had visited Markaz Nizamuddin, the Tablighi Jamaat headquarters and one of the country's biggest coronavirus hotspots, in March.

The ex-politician, his wife - who is currently the area councillor - and their daughter have tested positive for COVID-19.

The police say because of his negligence, his village Deenpur in south-west Delhi has now been declared a containment zone, meaning it has been sealed off and residents cannot move out at all.

"All three of them have been admitted to Ambedkar Hospital," a senior police officer told NDTV.

According to him, when information was being sought on anyone visiting a large religious gathering at Markaz Nizamuddin last month, the former councillor hid it. Later, he developed symptoms of the highly contagious virus and tested positive.

"When we were doing inquiries, he was not showing symptoms either. But later when we did technical investigations, his link was clearly established, that he had visited the Tablighi Jamaat gathering," a senior officer said.

The leader had been home quarantined but during a verification, he was not found at home.

Though he repeatedly denied it, his call records and inquiries revealed his visit to the Nizamuddin meet.

The Deenpur village with about 250 homes has been sealed, the officer said. "All villagers have been advised to stay indoors. Even for essential supplies they have to contact government agencies," he added.

Delhi has 720 COVID-19 cases, including 12 deaths. More than 60 per cent of Delhi's virus cases have been traced to the Tablighi Jamaat gathering, which completely defied social distancing guidelines issued in early March and the subsequent lockdown.

Delhi Police are carrying out contact tracing for all residents in the 22 hotspots in the capital. Police officers are scanning over 10,000 mobile phone records.

"In some cases when people are not telling truth or are hiding facts we are using invasive methods too," an official said.

According to him, a "deep intervention exercise" is being carried out by the police and intelligence agencies to trace contacts.