Islamophobia: A prominent leader of the famous Tablighi Jamaat has been charged with manslaughter by Indian authorities over coronavirus fear.
Saad Khandalvi – a prominent figure of Tablighi Jamaat in India, on Thursday, was booked on charges of manslaughter after police accused him of ignoring two notices instructing him to end a religious gathering.
According to details, the religious event began on March 3, in Delhi’s Nizamuddin area. Officials have linked the event to 1,023 coronavirus cases across 17 states.
Police accused the religious organization of criminal negligence that they Muslim leaders intentionally violated the lockdown directives issued by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 24 – a claim Tablighi Jamaat categorically denies stating that they had immediately suspended the event the moment announcement was made.
However, several people were stranded at the compound due to ban on public transport and took shelter there. Organizers had informed local authorities regarding this issue and had been cooperating with healthcare officials.
The development comes as COVID-19 outbreak in India has been nefariously linked to Muslim minority population in the country. Since March 28, tweets with the hashtag ‘CoronaJihad’ have appeared nearly 300,000 times and potentially seen by 165 million people on Twitter.
Indian news channels have focused on the link between the religious gathering in Nizamuddin and the spread of the virus, which in turn has led to a huge increase in anti-Muslim sentiment.
Additionally, in Ahmedabad – the main city in the western Indian state of Gujarat which is governed by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), a government-run hospital has openly segregated coronavirus patients based on their religion, claiming the order came from the government.
According to hospital administration, they have been instructed by the government to treat Hindu and Muslim patients in separate wards, whereas previously, wards were dedicated on gender basis rather than religion.