Centre to blacklist 800 Tablighi preachers from Indonesia for violation of visa rules

A senior government official told The Hindu that around 8,000 people from across the country attended a gathering earlier this month at the Alami Markaz Banglewali Masjid, the headquarters of the Tablighi Jamaat in Nizamuddin area of south Delhi.

Many people from across the country who tested positive for COVID-19 had attended the conference or were close contacts of the participants, an official said.

India and Indonesia have a liberal visa arrangement and allow tourist visa on arrival for the citizens.

“They came here on a tourist visa but were participating in religious conferences, this is violation of visa rules. We are going to blacklist around 800 Indonesian preachers so that in future they are not able to enter the country,” said the official.

The official added that the preachers then moved in batches to Telangana, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and conducted group meetings in mosques and held several meetings.

“Around 50% of COVID-19 positive cases in Telangana are linked to the meetings organised by the preachers. Around 350 people from Telangana had also attended the conference in Delhi,” said the official. Last week, a 65-year-old man in Srinagar who attended the conference in Delhi died after contracting the virus.

When asked whether the preachers were not screened at the airport for any COVID-19 symptoms, the official said, “they entered India before the red alert was sounded.”