Assam government to register cases against elusive Tablighi Markaz attendees

The Tablighi Markaz attendees, who will come forward after Monday, will be screened. At the same time, cases will be registered against them, health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.
Assam Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma (File photo| PTI)
Assam Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma (File photo| PTI)

GUWAHATI: The Assam government on Monday said it would register cases under the Disaster Management Act against Tablighi Markaz attendees from the state who went into hiding.

“The Tablighi Markaz attendees, who will come forward after today (Monday), will be screened. At the same time, cases will be registered against them under the Disaster Management Act for their willful disobedience,” Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.

“There are provisions under the Disaster Management Act. We will take action according to those provisions. However, with the cooperation from Islamic clerics and mosques, I firmly believe the issue can be settled by tonight,” the minister said.

He said the samples of 128 people, linked to Tablighi Markaz congregation, were yet to be collected. Of Assam’s 26 COVID-19 positive cases, 25 were linked to that congregation.

Three days ago, Sarma had said some people, being quarantined at a hospital in Golaghat, were spitting around thereby threatening the lives of others. “As they showed no symptoms for COVID-19, they thought we confined them to the hospital without any reason,” he had said.

There are reports that some COVID-19 patients and others being quarantined were misbehaving with healthcare personnel. The state’s Director General of Police Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta warned that action as per the law would be taken against them.

Meanwhile, six states in Northeast have sealed their border with Assam after it recorded a rise in the number of COVID-19 positive cases. The states – Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura and Meghalaya – share their border with Assam. They have, however, exempted the movement of vehicles carrying medicines and other essential items.

Apart from Assam, Manipur recorded two positive cases and Mizoram and Arunachal recorded one each.

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