Tablighi Jamaat Event Attendees Should Be Caught, Their Phones Seized to Examine Call Details: UP CM

Lucknow: People who attended the Tablighi Jamaat congregation in Delhi should be "caught" and their mobile phones seized to examine call details, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on Saturday.

The event, which had taken place earlier last month in the national capital's West Nizamuddin area, became a key source for the spread of COVID-19 in India as many of the participants travelled to various parts of the country after attending it.

Adityanath said the "intentional violation of social distancing norms or spreading of chaos", despite the lockdown, is part of a well-planned conspiracy, the UP government said in a statement issued here.

"Be very strict with such people. Those who participated in the Tablighi Jamaat event should be caught. Seize their mobile phones and check their call details. Examine their belongings and if anything suspicious is found, seize it. Pay special attention to the cleanliness and sanitisation of the places where such people are staying," Adityanath directed members of 'Team-11'.

The team has 11 senior officials as its members and was constituted by Adityanath following the outbreak of COVID 19. Adityanath also discussed with them a detailed action plan to deal with the situation after the lockdown is over, according to the statement.

"The boundaries of the state are international, inter-state and inter-district. Thus, movement at these places will also have to be taken care of," he said.

The 21-day nationwide lockdown from March 25 was announced by the central government to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. To reduce the impact of the lockdown on UP's economy, he said discussions should be held with state and district level bankers from now and a strategy should be prepared accordingly.

The strategy should be made on what can be done through employment fairs, the Vishwakarma Shram Samman Yojana, the One district one product ODOP) scheme and the Mati Kala Board, so that it can be implemented as soon as the situation becomes normal, he said.