This story is from April 6, 2020

Assam to register cases against absconding Jamaat delegates

Assam to register cases against absconding Jamaat delegates
GUWAHATI: Assam government has decided to charge every absconding Tablighi Jamaat delegate of the state with ‘wilful disobedience’ and register case against them.
Assam health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said here on Monday, “We have decided that, whoever comes out (of hiding) from tomorrow, government will register case against them for wilful disobedience under the Disaster Management Act.”
Sarma said that there are still 128 Tablighi Jamaat returnee at large in the state and have not reported to the health authorities.
“I have met Jimmedars and Aamirs of Jamaat, police officials have also talked to them and they have committed to bring all the delegates in hiding for sample testing and quarantine. I believe they will all come by tonight,” Sarma said.
The state government had received a list of 831 names of delegates to Niazamuddin Markaaz from centre and local surveillance. On scrutiny, 50 of them have not returned home so far and are believed to either at Nizamuddin and other places while another 168 names were not found to be linked to the Markaaz.
“So the target before us to collect samples 619 persons who have returned home from Nizamuddin Markaaz. So of far we have collected 491 samples and there are still 128 persons are to be located and their samples to be collected,” Sarma said.
So far 25 of the 26 Covid-19 positive cases in the state have links with Nizamuddin—four each from Morigaon and Nalbari, nine from Golaghat district, three from Goalpara district one each from North Lahimpur, South Salmara, Hailakandi, Cachar and
Kamrup districts.
None of the returnees voluntarily declared their travel history before health workers in the beginning. Local surveillance, location tracking by mobile towers helped the health department rope in majority of these people for testing and quarantine.
Nizamuddin-sourced cases have been found across the state, from Barak Valley (southern part of state), to South Salmara (western border) and till North Lakhimpur (easternmost Assam on north bank of Brahmaputra).
In the other northeastern states too, the Tablighi Jamaat sourced infected persons have tested positive—one in Arunachal Pradesh and another in Manipur so far.
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About the Author
Prabin Kalita

Prabin Kalita is a journalist at The Times of India and is currently the Chief of Bureau (northeast). He has been reporting in mainstream Indian national media since 2001. He has been a field journalist reporting gamut of issues from India’s northeastern region and major developments in neighbouring countries like Myanmar, China, Bhutan and Bangladesh concerning India and northeastern region. He has been covering insurgency—internal and cross-border, politics, natural calamities, environment etc. He is a post-graduate in Geological Sciences from Gauhati University.

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