Telangana police have filed a criminal case against six Malaysian Tablighi Jamaat preachers after they were found hiding at a mosque in Tolichowki area in Hyderabad.

The Hans India reported that six had come to India to take part in the Alami Markaz Nizamuddin congregations in Delhi. The preachers had stayed in the Tolichowki mosque with the permission of its head.

The Nizamuddin congregation has emerged as a major vector of Coronavirus (Covid-19) in the country, with Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Delhi emerging as the worst-hit States. The Tabligh Jamaat events held last month have the infection source for nearly 30 per cent of Covid-19 cases in India.

However, they failed to inform the local police of their presence in the areas. They have been booked under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code Act besides the Epidemic Diseases Act.

Police are also taking action against those who hid the information of the presence of the six Malaysians. All the six have now been shifted the quarantine facility at the Government-run Gandhi Hospital in Hyderabad.

The six got held up before their return to Malaysia due to the nation-wide lockdown from 24 March.

The is the second such case filed by the Telangana Police against foreigners. Earlier, it filed cases against 10 Islamic clerics from Indonesia for violating the Foreigners Act.

All these Tablighi Jamaat preachers have violated the visa regulations by coming on a tourist visa and attending religious meetings at the Aalami Markaz Nizamuddin meetings.

So far, 364 persons have tested positive for Coronavirus in Telangana with 11 of them succumbing to the pandemic virus. All the 11 have a history of having taken part in the Nizamuddin congregation.

About 1,100 from Telangana had attended the Markaz events that took place last month. At least 170 of those who took part in the congregations have tested positive, while another 93 of their contacts have also been infected with Covid-19.