[COVID-19]: 960 Tablighi Foreigners Blacklisted, States Order Legal Action

The Government on April 2, 2020 (Thursday) blacklisted 960 people and canceled their visas after finding that they were part of Tablighi-e-jammat activities violating their visa condition.

The Home Minister’s office asked Delhi Police and Police Chiefs of other states of the places of these foreigners and to take legal action under Disaster Management Act, 2005 and Foreigners Act, 1946.

“Four Americans, nine British and six Chinese nationals were among the 960 foreign Tablighi Jamaat activists who were blacklisted and their tourist visas cancelled by the Union Home Ministry” officials said on Friday. 

The foreign Jamaat members, who are currently in different parts of the country, some of whom have tested positive for COVID-19, also include 379 Indonesians, 110 Bangladeshi, 63 Myanmarese and 33 Sri Lankan citizens.

As many as 77 Kyrgyzstan, 75 Malaysian, 65 Thai, 12 Vietnamese, 9 Saudi and three French nationals were also among those Tablighi Jamaat activists who were blacklisted and their visas canceled, a government official said.

Action against the foreign Tablighi Jamaat members was taken after over 2,300 activists, including 250 foreigners of the Islamic organization were found to be living at its headquarters located at Delhi's Nizamuddin despite the 21-day lockdown imposed to check the spread of coronavirus.
More than 300 of these Tablighi Jamaat activists have tested positive for COVID-19 while others have been put in different quarantine centers.

At least 9,000 people had participated at a congregation at the Nizamuddin Markaz last month after which many have travelled to various parts of the country for missionary works.

So far, around 400 COVID-19 positive cases and about 12 deaths in the country were found to have links with the Nizamuddin Markaz.

The other foreigners include seven from Alegria, one from Australia, two from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, three from Côte d’Ivoire, five from Djibouti, one from Egypt, three from Ethiopia, one from Fiji, three from Gambia, 24 from Iran and one from Jordan.

They also include 14 from Kazakhstan, one from Kenya, three from Madagascar, two from Mali, 10 from Philippines, three from Qatar, one from Russia, one from Senegal, one from Sierra Leone, one from South Africa, four from Sudan, one from Sweden, eight from Tanzania, one from Togo, three from Trinidad, three from Tobago, two from Tunisia, two from Ukraine, 12 from Vietnam and others six.

The home ministry on Tuesday had said about 2,100 foreigners have come to India since January 1and indulged in Tablighi activities in different parts of the country.

On Thursday (April 02, 2020), the ministry said over 1,300 foreign Tablighi Jamaat activists, including those from the US, France and Italy, have been identified in different parts of the country and most of them have been put in quarantine. The government has also decided not to issue tourist visa to any foreigner who wishes to visit India and take part in Tablighi activities.