NEW DELHI: Even as he continues to elude the Delhi Police, Tablighi Jamaat chief Maulana Saad purportedly released an audio clip in which the preacher is heard claiming that he has put himself under quarantine following medical advice. In the audio clip, Saad reportedly urges the followers of Tablighi Jamaat to cooperate and to obey the government directives regarding lockdown apart from those issued by doctors in the wake of the Corona outbreak.
The audio clip was shared by advocate Musharraf Ali Khan, who is himself a Tablighi Jamaat follower. Khan claimed that the audio clip was issued by none other than Saad himself. This newspaper, however, could not verify the fact independently. Police sources said that Crime Branch is verifying the audio to trace the maulana. The Delhi Police’s Crime Branch has been conducting raids at several places in the national capital and in Uttar Pradesh since Wednesday to trace the maulana after it emerged that he had sheltered more than 2,000 followers at the Tablighi Jamaat headquarters despite a lockdown in the country. Maulana Saad and his companions Mufti Shahzaad, Mohd Saifi, Jishaan, Mohd. Salman have now been named in an FIR lodged in this connection.
According to the clip, Saad is in Delhi under self-quarantine following the advice of doctors. “We all should follow the orders and instructions of government and advises of doctors. Following the advice of doctors, I have self-quarantined myself. These precautions are not against the faith and our belief. Hence, we need to follow these things. Our Jamaats (groups), wherever they are, must abide by the law,” the speaker says. On Thursday, Khan posted a video on YouTube in which he urges the people to follow the government directives.