Coronavirus: 30 Islamic Sect Members, Including Allahabad Professor Arrested, Says UP Police

UP Police has arrested 30 people, including 16 foreign participants of the Tablighi Jamaat (File)

An Allahabad university professor has been arrested along with 29 people, including 16 foreign participants of Tablighi Jamaat meet at Nizamuddin in New Delhi, an officials said today.

City Superintendent of Police Brijesh Kumar Shrivastava said Prof Mohammed Shahid was arrested on charges of arranging the shelter for Indonesians among the foreigner Tablighi Jamaat members in a mosque in the city and not informing the police about them.

One of the Indonesians had earlier tested positive for coronavirus infection and had undergone treatment for it at Kotwa Bani in Allahabad district, he said.

Mr Shrivastava said other arrested included nine Thailand nationals, one each from Kerala and West Bengal besides eleven others associated with Abdullah mosque and Hera mosques at Kareli in the city.

While the professor has been remanded to judicial custody after the arrest, others have been kept in isolation, the Superintendent of Police said, adding those arrested have been booked on charges of violating the Foreigners Act and colluding with each other for providing shelter to foreigners and shielding information about them from the police.

The senior police officer said during the investigation, it transpired that Prof Shahid had attended the Tablighi Jamaat met at Nizamuddin in New Delhi last month along with many of these foreigners and had shielded this information from the police, besides arranging for the foreigners' stay in local mosques.

Mr Shrivastava said it also transpired that all 16 foreigners had come to India on tourist visas but had been indulging in propagating their religion.

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