Punjab government gives 24-hr deadline to untraced Tablighi Jamaat attendees

After Himachal Pradesh, now Punjab Government gave a 24-hour deadline to Tablighi Jammat followers, to report their whereabouts to the nearest police station.

New Delhi: The Punjab government on Tuesday gave a 24-hour deadline to around two dozen Tablighi Jamaat followers, who came to the state after visiting Delhi''s Nizamuddin Markaz in March, to report their whereabouts to the nearest police station, or else face criminal prosecution.

A spokesperson for the Health Department said all those who had attended the Markaz event and were currently in Punjab should report for coronavirus screening within the next 24 hours.

Of the 467 Tablighi workers who reportedly arrived in the state from Nizamuddin, the police has traced 445 participants, whereas 22 are yet to be tracked.

Samples of 350 traced Tablighi followers were collected and tested, of which 12 tested positive and 111 negative. The results of remaining 227 were awaited, said the spokesperson.

While taking care of the sensitivity of the issue, the remaining Markaz participants have been now directed to come forward for corona tests.

The spokesperson cited reports that the Markaz of Tablighi Jammat had emerged as a hotspot of Covid-19 positive patients.

It may be recalled that the Union Ministry of Home Affairs has already issued an advisory on March 28 and, in its continuation, reiterated its directions to all the Chief Secretaries/Advisors to Administrators of all States/UTs and DGPs in this regard on April 4.

On Monday out of 11 cases, 5 had attended Markaz of Tablighi Jamaat.