Exclusive: 5 years after FIR in Tablighi Jamaat Covid case, probe finds ‘nothing objectionable’ in Markaz head Maulana Saad’s speeches
Last month, the Delhi High Court ruled that merely living in a markaz did not amount to a violation of government-issued prohibitory orders curtailing movement during the onset of the pandemic.
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The Tablighi Jamaat’s headquarters at Nizamuddin in New Delhi. (Express Archives: Amit Mehra)More than five years after Markaz Nizamuddin head Maulana Mohd Saad Kandhalvi and others were accused of spreading Covid by organising an international congregation in Delhi, the current investigation officer from the Delhi Police Crime Branch has informed seniors that “nothing objectionable” was found in Saad’s speeches recovered from his laptop, The Indian Express has learnt.
On March 31, 2020, an FIR was lodged against Saad and others for culpable homicide not amounting to murder, based on a complaint filed by the then SHO of Hazrat Nizamuddin police station, who alleged that “an audio recording, purportedly by Saad, was found in circulation on WhatsApp on March 21, 2020, in which the speaker was heard asking his followers to defy the lockdown and social distancing, and to attend the religious gathering of the Markaz”.
According to sources, the current investigation officer has informed his seniors at the Delhi Police headquarters that Saad has not joined the investigation so far. “A laptop and some electronic equipment were deposited in the FSL (forensic science laboratory) to extract data, and that is still awaited. Speeches of Saad were stored in the laptop, which were analysed earlier during the investigation, and nothing objectionable was found in them,” a senior officer said, citing the investigation report.
Last month, the Delhi High Court ruled that merely living in a markaz did not amount to a violation of government-issued prohibitory orders curtailing movement during the onset of the pandemic. It said this while quashing 16 FIRs and consequent chargesheets against 70 Indians associated with the Tablighi Jamaat.
The Jamaat, an international Islamic religious group, was accused of spreading Covid by organising an international congregation in Delhi, at the Nizamuddin Markaz, between March 13 and 15.
Maulana Mohd Saad Kandhalvi
A total of 952 foreign nationals, belonging to 36 countries, were charge-sheeted. “Forty-eight chargesheets and 11 supplementary chargesheets were filed in the court on May 26, 27 and 28, 2020, and June 19, 2020,” an officer said.
During the trial, 44 accused foreign nationals opted to face trial, while 908 pleaded guilty and paid fines ranging from Rs 4,000 to Rs 10,000.
When contacted, the then Delhi Police Commissioner, S N Shrivastava, said, “After superannuation four years ago, I am not connected with the investigation anymore.”
Queries sent to the Special Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) and the Delhi Police spokesperson for a comment did not elicit a response.
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