Fear Of Covid-19 Spread: 3 Villages In Assam Sealed After 10,000 Mourners Attend Funeral Of Moulana Khairul Islam Mufti

Fearing the spread of the novel coronavirus after thousands of people attended the funeral of Islamic preacher Moulana Khairul Islam Mufti , local authorities in Assam have locked down three villages in Assam's Nagaon district.

As per the COVID-19, guidelines issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs, a maximum of 20 people can only participate in the funeral or last rites of a deceased. However, the guidelines were flagrantly violated at Khairul Islam's funeral.

87-year-old Khairul Islam served as the vice-president of the All India Jamiat Ulema and is regarded as "Aamir-e-Shariat" for the Northeast India.

Khairul Islam was the father of Aminul Islam , the controversial MLA from Dhing constituency representing the Islamist political outfit AIUDF (All India United Democratic Front) founded by perfume baron Badruddin Ajmal.

The incident came to light after Aminul Islam uploaded pictures of the gathering on a social media platform.

The Indian Express quoted MLA Islam as saying “My father was a very renowned figure and had a very large following. We had communicated to the administration about the death and the funeral. Accordingly, to limit the number of participants, the police also asked many vehicles to revert back. But still people found ways to turn up.”

According to conservative estimates by district administration officials, at least 10,000 people were present for the funeral and two police cases have been filed.

Speaking to Indian Express, Nagaon Deputy Commissioner Jadav Saikia that there was no law and order issues in the gathering but violation of the ongoing pandemic laws. "The cases are not against any individual but against violators. We will investigate the case and proceed as per law,” he said.

"There were no law and order issues in the gathering. But the gatherers violated the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic laws regarding the gathering, social distancing, wearing masks, etc. The cases are not against any individual but against violators. We will investigate the case and proceed as per law," Saikia added.

In April this year, Aminul Islam was arrested on sedition charges for allegedly making provocative statements against the quarantine facilities where Nizamuddin returnees have been sent in Assam.

In a viral audio clip, Aminul Islam alleged that the quarantine centres in Assam were “worse than detention centres” meant for illegal migrants. In the clip, he blamed the state government for sending “healthy” Nizamuddin returnees to quarantine centres and trying to defame them by tagging them as Covid-19-positive patients.

Even Aminul Islam’s own party AIDUF distanced itself from his statement. Aminul Islam was later released on bail