Delhi Police issues fourth notice to Tablighi Jamaat head Maulana Saad, asks to submit COVID-19 test report

The Delhi Police on Thursday issued fourth notice to Maulana Saad asking him to get tested for COVID-19 in a government laboratory.

Earlier, Saad's lawyer Fuzail Ayubi had informed the Crime Branch of the Delhi Police that the Tablighi Jamaat chief had tested negative for COVID-19 after undergoing a test in a private laboratory.

Delhi Police informed that the fourth notice was issued after Maulana Saad did not respond to certain queries posed by its crime branch.

As per the reports, Crime Branch had earlier interrogated three sons of Maulana Saad. Saad has so far evaded arrest and put himself in home-quarantine. He was earlier issued notices in connection with the gathering organised in Delhi.

Including Saad, at least 17 people have been charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder for holding a gathering in the Nizamuddin Markaz last month that authorities say led to a big jump in coronavirus infections in India.

The congregation of the Tablighi Jamaat in Nizamuddin became an epicentre of coronavirus spread after several attendees the event tested positive and infected hundreds across the country.

The headquarters of the Jamaat in Delhi were sealed and thousands of followers, including foreigners, were taken into quarantine.