The Crossbill News Desk
In March 2020, the Tablighi Jamaat congregation at Delhi’s Nizamuddin Markaz came under intense scrutiny, with authorities and media alleging that the religious gathering had triggered the spread of COVID-19 across the country.
However, a new report by The Indian Express reveals that the current investigating officer from the Delhi Police Crime Branch has informed senior officials that “nothing objectionable” was found in the speeches of Markaz chief Mohammad Saad Kandhalvi recovered from his laptop.
This development comes just weeks after the Delhi High Court, on July 17, quashed chargesheets in 16 cases against 70 Indians accused of sheltering foreigners who had attended the congregation.
According to the report, an FIR was registered on March 31, 2020, against Saad and others for culpable homicide not amounting to murder, based on a complaint by the then station house officer of Hazrat Nizamuddin police station.
The SHO had claimed that “an audio recording, purportedly by Saad, was found in circulation on WhatsApp on March 21, 2020, in which the speaker was heard asking his followers to defy the lockdown and social distancing, and to attend the religious gathering of the Markaz.”
Citing a senior officer, The Indian Express reports that the case’s investigation officer later clarified that an analysis of Saad’s speeches stored on a laptop deposited in the forensic science laboratory had found nothing objectionable.
During the initial probe, a total of 952 foreign nationals from 36 countries were chargesheeted.
“Forty-eight chargesheets and 11 supplementary chargesheets were filed in the court on May 26, 27 and 28, 2020, and June 19, 2020,” an officer told the newspaper.
Of them, 44 accused foreign nationals opted to face trial, while 908 pleaded guilty and paid fines ranging from Rs 4,000 to Rs 10,000.
Although the Tablighi Jamaat congregation took place before India had issued guidelines restricting public gatherings, the meeting became the focal point of blame for the surge in COVID-19 cases.
On April 5, 2020, then health ministry joint secretary Lav Agarwal said in a press briefing that India’s COVID-19 doubling rate was 4.1 days, but “had the congregation at Nizamuddin not happened and additional cases not come, this would have been about 7.14 days.”
What followed was a widespread media campaign vilifying Muslims, with terms like “corona jihad” being circulated, even as other mass events—such as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rally in Ahmedabad to welcome US President Donald Trump in February 2020—received little attention in this context.
A report by the Pew Research Centre later placed India at the top of its index of COVID-19-related hostilities against religious groups, citing both state actions and societal hostility during the pandemic year.
However, a new report by The Indian Express reveals that the current investigating officer from the Delhi Police Crime Branch has informed senior officials that “nothing objectionable” was found in the speeches of Markaz chief Mohammad Saad Kandhalvi recovered from his laptop.
This development comes just weeks after the Delhi High Court, on July 17, quashed chargesheets in 16 cases against 70 Indians accused of sheltering foreigners who had attended the congregation.
According to the report, an FIR was registered on March 31, 2020, against Saad and others for culpable homicide not amounting to murder, based on a complaint by the then station house officer of Hazrat Nizamuddin police station.
The SHO had claimed that “an audio recording, purportedly by Saad, was found in circulation on WhatsApp on March 21, 2020, in which the speaker was heard asking his followers to defy the lockdown and social distancing, and to attend the religious gathering of the Markaz.”
Citing a senior officer, The Indian Express reports that the case’s investigation officer later clarified that an analysis of Saad’s speeches stored on a laptop deposited in the forensic science laboratory had found nothing objectionable.
During the initial probe, a total of 952 foreign nationals from 36 countries were chargesheeted.
“Forty-eight chargesheets and 11 supplementary chargesheets were filed in the court on May 26, 27 and 28, 2020, and June 19, 2020,” an officer told the newspaper.
Of them, 44 accused foreign nationals opted to face trial, while 908 pleaded guilty and paid fines ranging from Rs 4,000 to Rs 10,000.
Although the Tablighi Jamaat congregation took place before India had issued guidelines restricting public gatherings, the meeting became the focal point of blame for the surge in COVID-19 cases.
On April 5, 2020, then health ministry joint secretary Lav Agarwal said in a press briefing that India’s COVID-19 doubling rate was 4.1 days, but “had the congregation at Nizamuddin not happened and additional cases not come, this would have been about 7.14 days.”
What followed was a widespread media campaign vilifying Muslims, with terms like “corona jihad” being circulated, even as other mass events—such as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rally in Ahmedabad to welcome US President Donald Trump in February 2020—received little attention in this context.
A report by the Pew Research Centre later placed India at the top of its index of COVID-19-related hostilities against religious groups, citing both state actions and societal hostility during the pandemic year.
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