6 Malaysian Tablighis hiding in Hyderabad booked

Hyderabad: Hyderabad police on Tuesday booked six Malaysians hiding in a mosque in the city after attending Tablighi Jamaat meeting in Delhi last month.

Police and health authorities shifted them to state-run Gandhi Hospital for quarantine.

A case under the Foreigners Act, and under various sections of Disaster Management Act, Epidemic Diseases Act and Indian Penal Code was booked against them at Banjara Hills police station.

Police said the Malaysians had not come forward to undergo COVID-19 tests despite appeal by the state government to all those who attended Tablighi event at Nizamuddin Markaz in mid-March.

The foreigners were allegedly hiding at a mosque in Toli Chowki area. Police also booked the incharge of the mosque for hiding the information about presence of the Malaysians.

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Six Malaysians had reached Hyderabad after attending Tablighi congregation in Delhi and were stuck here due to suspension of international flights.

A police officer said they were booked under Indian Penal Code sections 420 (cheating), 269 (negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) 270 (malignant act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life)188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant), 109 (abetment).

They were also booked under various sections of Epidemic Diseases Act 1897 and Disaster Management Act 2005. Since the Malaysians had come on a tourist visa but attended religious meetings, they were also booked for violation of the Foreigners Act.

The Malaysians were booked a day after police in Telangana’s Karimnagar town booked 10 Indonesian Tablighi preachers who had tested positive last month. A case was also registered against two agents who accompanied from Delhi to Karimnagar and four local hosts in the town.

IANS