Kotwali police detain Bangladeshi national on suspicion of having attended Tablighi Jamaat congregation

Biswabrata Goswami

Statesman News Service

KRISHNAGAR, 25 APRIL: The Kotwali police in Krishnagar have detained two persons including a Bangladeshi national for interrogation in suspicion that the foreigner had links to the Tablighi Jamaat congregation at Nizamuddin in New Delhi.

Today, local residents raided the house where the Bangladeshi national has taken shelter and asked him to divulge his real identity. Later, the irate people called the Kotwali police whom they handed over for interrogation.

According to the local residents, the Bangladeshi national identified as Mohammed Sariful had taken shelter in the house of one Goutam Mondol at Bhaluka under Kotwali police station area in Nadia around 25 days ago. Since then, he has been staying in his house and he posed as a maternal uncle of Mondol before the local residents.

Today, some local residents discovered that the Bangladeshi man had come from New Delhi and taken shelter in Mondol’s house. Mondol, who was also a Bangladeshi national, had come to India one and half-years ago and he has collected various documents like voter card, Aadhaar card and others in connivance with the local panchayat pradhan Madhu Sarkar.

Pradyot Sinha, a BJP member in the locality alleged the Bangladeshi national did not take shelter in the Muslim dominated areas in the district on fear that his identity could be exposed. “So he had taken shelter in Mondol’s house and posed as a maternal uncle of Mondol. For the last two days, we have been getting information about his identity and today some local youths raided Mondol’s house and asked him to reveal his identity unless they will hand him over to the police. The man then revealed that he was a Bangladeshi national”, Sinha said.

He also demanded a proper investigation with regard to this matter and that he should immediately be checked in the hospital whether he is infected by novel coronavirus.

When asked, a senior police officer said, “We have detained the Bangladeshi national and his house owner for interrogation. It is too early to say anything about the matter”.

In Nadia, no person, who either attended the religious congregation at Nizamuddin or came in contact with the persons attending the congregation, has been detected so far.

Tablighi Jamaat, an orthodox Muslim organisation, had held a religious congregation at Nizamuddin in the national capital on 13 March. It was attended by 2,000 odd participants, including 250 foreigners.

Nearly 22,000 Tablighi Jamaat members and their contacts have been quarantined across the country so far, said Punya Salila Srivastava, joint secretary in the Union Home Ministry in recent times. The government undertook “massive efforts” in coordination with states to find out the Jamaat members and their contacts.In West Midnapore, seven Indonesian Islamic preachers and two Indian translators, who attended Tablighi Jamaat meet at Nizamuddin in New Delhi, a religious congregation during 11 to 15 March, were found staying at a mosque near Satkui in West Midnapore and were picked up by the police on 1 April.