Uttar Pradesh: 17 Tablighi Jamaat members released on bail

Foreign members of Tablighi Jamaat who were in jail from April 11 after completing their quarantine, have been released on Thursday. There were 10 members from Indonesia and seven from Thailand who were arrested in March under sections like the Passport Act, the Foreigners' Act and the Epidemic Act

Bahraich: Seventeen members of the Tablighi Jamaat from Indonesia and Thailand, who were arrested in March, have been released on bail, police said on Thursday.

Chief Judicial Magistrate Navneet Kumar Bharti on Wednesday ordered their release on surety of Rs 25,000 each.

The foreigners, 10 from Indonesia and seven from Thailand, were arrested in March under various sections, including the Passport Act, the Foreigners' Act and the Epidemic Act. They were in jail from April 11 after completing their quarantine period.

A large congregation organised by Tablighi Jamaat in the national capital in March had emerged as a major hotspot of COVID-19 in the country. The government had said the decision of banning the foreign Tablighi Jamaat members was taken after details of foreigners found illegally living in mosques and religious places emerged from various states across the country.

Inputs from agencies