Chandigarh: Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij said Wednesday the Tablighi Jamaat members who had failed to report to the authorities in the state would now be booked under law, as the deadline for them to identify themselves has come to an end.
Anil Vij said the members, who attended a religious congregation at Nizamuddin in Delhi against the social distancing protocol amid the coronavirus outbreak, will now be booked for attempt to murder.
Vij, who is also the health minister of Haryana, has maintained that a sharp spike in the total number of COVID-19 cases in Haryana is because of the sizeable chunk of positive cases belonging to the Jamaat members. With 11 fresh cases being reported, the total number of coronavirus cases in the northern state rose to 141 Wednesday.
Vij said so far, nearly 1,550 of the Jamaat members, including 107 foreigners, have been tracked down in Haryana. A majority of those who entered Haryana before lockdown had been traced to Nuh district.
“Jamaat members who may still be hiding in the state had been given time till 5.00pm April 8 to report to the district administration concerned, failing which strict action will be initiated against them as per law,” the minister had earlier said.
“The deadline given to them has ended. Those who will be tracked down now and found COVID-19 positive will be booked under IPC Section 307 (attempt to murder),” said Anil Vij. He justified invoking of stringent punishment against the members, as he said coronavirus was ‘highly contagious and fatal disease and someone who deliberately conceals it even after being given enough time deserves to be strictly dealt with’.
Asked if the Haryana government is planning to give any relaxation to public movement in case the lockdown is extended beyond April 14, Vij, said, “We will assess (the situation). We will soon conduct random COVID-19 tests in every district, and based on the report of these tests, will be able to take any decision. Random tests will be conducted to check instances of community spread of the disease.”
PTI