Sikkim Appeals Nizamuddin Markaz Attendees to Report to Authorities

Sikkim Appeals Nizamuddin Markaz Attendees to Report to Authorities

SikkimSikkim
India TodayNE
  • Apr 03, 2020,
  • Updated Apr 03, 2020, 12:48 AM IST

Gangtok, April 2, 2020:

Sikkim authorities on Thursday appealed to the members of the Muslim community to cooperate with the Government and inform if anyone had visited the Tablighi Jamaat at Nizamuddin Markaz in Delhi or had a travel history to the national capital.

A team of the Sikkim administration, led by Additional District Collectorate, Anaanth Jain, on Thursday visited the areas of the Muslim belt in Gangtokand said, "We appeal you to kindly cooperate with us by coming forward and informing us about your latest travel history if there is any."

The team of Police personnel and other Government officials used loudspeakers to spread the message among the people and requested them to furnish the information since it was regarding the coronavirus and the process was part of the process the control the pandemic.

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The ADC also shared that the appeal was a precautionary measure to control the transmission of Covid-19. "We have come to know of three residents from Rangpo who had gone to Delhi. We don't know whether they have gone out to Markaz, but still we want to ensure that we take the necessary measures."

"If anyone comes forward, then we will take care of his or her medical treatment but one should come out as the threat is there if they remain inside the home," he added.

It may be mentioned here that the Delhi-based headquarter of Tablighi Jamaat, an evangelical Muslim sect, in Delhi’s Nizamuddin area has emerged as the new hotspot for coronavirus infection, thereby posing as a threat across the country.

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Attendees from Indonesia, Malaysia, Kashmir, Andhra Pradesh, Assam and Meghalaya had participated in the Tablighi Jamaat annual congregation amid the nationwide lockdown. According to reports, 24 out of these have tested positive for COVID-19 and 200 others have shown symptoms of the virus. As many as 1,400 people are believed to have been exposed to the virus now.

It has been reported that the first indications of the Tablighi Jamaat site being a source of the disease came in the middle of last week when officials in four regions – Andaman, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Kashmir – began working back the travel histories of patients who tested positive there.

Eight of these, including seven who went to Hyderabad and one who went to Srinagar, have died of the disease. According to reports, all of them had been to the building in Nizamuddin – also referred to as a markaz — which shares a boundary with the police station and is close to the famous Nizamuddin Auliya shrine.

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Assam has reported 16 positive cases of COVID-19 and all of them had visited the Markaz. Four from Assam have also tested positive in Delhi. Arunachal Pradesh today also reported its first positive case of one who had participated in the congregation. Owing to a spike in the positive cases, Sikkim is taking the necessary action to bring out the ones who had visited the Markaz.

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