Delhi minorities panel seeks probe into death of two Tablighi Jamaat members at Sultanpuri quarantine centre, blames denial of medicine

The Delhi Minorities Commission wrote a letter to Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal requesting a probe into the deaths of two Tablighi Jamaat members kept at a quarantine centre in the city’s Sultanpuri area The Delhi Minorities Commission wrote a letter to Lieutenant-Governor Anil Baijal and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal requesting a probe into the death of two Tablighi Jamaat members kept at a quarantine centre in the city’s Sultanpuri area, according to several media reports. Commission chairperson Zafarul-Islam Khan and member Kartar Singh Kochhar said in the letter that the deaths were a result of “callous and uncooperative nature of officers and doctors” manning and supervising these camps as well as the “erratic supply of food at these facilities.” The letter also stated Tablighi Jamaat members have been kept at quarantine centres in Sultanpuri, Narela and Dwarka and include people from India and abroad, adding that, “They include elderly people with health issues who require special care and medical attention.” The commission also alleged that many of the people in the quarantine facility have been there for about 25 days, more than the prescribed 14 days, but are still not being allowed to leave The Wire reported. The commission demanded that in view of fasting by Muslims during Ramzan “the timing of supply of food to them must also change and meticulously followed to suit fasting timing.” The Tablighi Jamaat event, held early in March, became a coronavirus hotspot, with the health ministry saying on 5 April that doubling rate of cases in India rose to 4.1 days from the estimated 7.4 days due to the religious gathering. Over 25,000 Tablighi Jamaat members and their contacts were quarantined in the country after the Centre and the states launched a massive operation to trace them.