Jamaat probe: Police enter Markaz to get ‘real’ picture

TNN | Updated: Apr 6, 2020, 05:50 IST

A team of Crime Branch videographed the visit to find out how the people were living on various floors.

NEW DELHI: The halls at the Alami Markaz, the headquarters of the Tablighi Jamaat in Nizamuddin, can comfortably accommodate around 1,000 people. But more than 1,800 people were fitted in and asked to sleep within a few inches of each other during the recent congregation, clearly violating the social distancing norm between March 11 and 25, said a police team that went inside on Sunday afternoon.
A team of Crime Branch cops videographed the visit to find out how the people were living on various floors. On Saturday, they visited the site but didn’t go inside as the building was not adequately sanitised. The cops were asked to wear safety suits on Sunday, too, as many areas are yet to be cleaned.
The team is trying to understand how things could have unfolded. The video footage clicked by an inmate is also being scanned. Cops found that people were made to sleep on the ground in close proximity. The foreigners, too, were staying in a similar condition.
In a statement issued by the Markaz authorities on Saturday, Maulana Yousuf, son of Tablighi head Maulana Saad Kandhalvi, said the volunteers didn’t depend on any external support during their stay.