Jamaat chief Maulana Saad yet to be questioned in Markaz case

Tablighi Jamaat chief Maulana Saad is the only person yet to be questioned in the Nizamuddin Markaz case, as all other accused named have been questioned and their statements recorded, the Delhi Police said on Monday.

The police stated that they have not yet questioned Saad, the organiser of a religious event wherein thousands of people from India and 41 foreign countries gathered amid the Covid-19 outbreak. A case has been registered against Saad and five other members of the Tablighi Jamaat for organising the congregation amid the lockdown.

The case against them has been registered under stringent sections for culpable homicide not amounting to murder. They have also been booked for violation of the Epidemic Act and Disaster Management Act on 31 March.

“All the named accused, except Maulana Saad, have been questioned,” IANS quoted a senior IPS officer as saying.

The Crime Branch of Delhi Police is probing the matter and Deputy Commissioner of Police Joy Tirkey is supervising it.

In the meantime, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) also started a probe into the Nizamuddin Markaz case even though as the Delhi Police probe was already underway. The CBI started a preliminary enquiry into the case and sought various documents from the police.

 Later the Central government on 5 June told the Supreme Court that the CBI probe was not needed into the case as the investigation by the Delhi Police Crime Branch was at an advanced stage. With agency inputs