Coronavirus In Telangana: 10 Islamic Clerics From Indonesia Booked For Indulging In Religious Work Violating Visa Rules

The Karimnagar police has registered cases against 15 persons, including 10 Islamic clerics from Indonesians, for violating the Foreigners Act, Telangana Today reported.

According to the complaint lodged by Indrasena Reddy, Circle Inspector, Special Branch, the Islamic clerics came to India on tourist visas and attended a religious meeting at Markaz in Nizamuddin, New Delhi, organised by Tablighi Jamaat, violating visa rules.

After completion of the event, the preachers reached Karimnagar town and participated in several prayer session again violating the rules of Central and State governments and in the process, spread coronavirus in the town, the compliant alleged.

The cases have been filed against the Indonesian Islamic clerics under sections 420, 269, 270, 188 of IPC, Epidemic Diseases Act-1897, Disaster Management Act-2005, 51 (b), and Foreigners Act-1946, section 14 (1) (b), 7, 13, 14 (c).

Telangana as reported a total of 364 cases including 30 fresh cases reported yesterday (Apr 6). The State has so far recorded 11 coronavirus deaths, all of them related to Markaz returnees.

During a media interaction, the state CM Chandrashekhar Rao said that a total of 1,089 Markaz returnees have been identified and tracked , and there are reports that there may be another 30 to 35 persons from the State still in New Delhi.

Of the Markaz returnees in the State, 170 have tested positive and another 93 persons, most of them primary contacts like family members, have also tested positive for the virus.

One of the major inflection clusters in the state has been attributed to a group of Indonesian Islamic Clerics. They are said to have arrived in New Delhi on February 22, and 10 of them along with three Indians arrived in Karimnagar on March 14. The group was found to have traveled in coach number S9 of Andhra Pradesh Sampark Kranti (train no 12708) and got off at Ramagundam.

The group stayed in two masjids at Mukarampura and Housing Board Colony areas. In the course of their religious campaign, they also went about meeting people in some localities in the town.

Special branch police, who found the foreign nationals in the town, brought them to the district headquarters hospital, where one person showed symptoms such as cough, cold and fever.