Syed Ali Ahmed | India Tomorrow

NEW DELHI, APRIL 18—While the State Government of Delhi as also the Central government carried out a lot of propaganda  through media against Tablighi Jamaat’s congregation at its Nizamuddin headquarters blaming it for spreading coronavirus at a time when the Narendra Modi government had come under lot of criticism from all quarters owing to unplanned lockdown implemented from midnight of March 24, the police have yet not given the copy of the FIR it registered against Tablighi Jamaat chief Maulana Mohammad Saad 19 days ago.

Speaking to India Tomorrow, Advocate Fuzail Ahmed Ayyubi said that neither the crime branch nor the police had given him the FIR copy despite repeated requests from him. Adv. Ayyubi is the advocate for Maulana Saad.

He said that he did not know the reason behind police not making the copy of the FIR available to his client.

Adv. Ayyubi said that while all the charges levelled by the police in its FIR registered  by the Delhi Police Crime Branch on March 31 on the complaint of the Hazrat Nizamuddin Police Station were less serious and bailable, the report about addition of Section 304 of IPC pertaining to “culpable homicide not amounting to murder” was the serious one.

He said that he had come to know about addition of Section 304 IPC only through media. “My client has not received any copy of the FIR, neither the previous one nor the additional charge of 304 IPC so far”, said Adv. Ayyubi.

The charges levelled against Maulana Saad in March 31 FIR were under IPC Sections 188 (disobedience to the order given by a public servant), 269 (negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life), 270 (malignant act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life), 271 (disobedience to quarantine rule) and 120B (criminal conspiracy for a common purpose), along with Epidemic Diseases Act and under sections 51 & 58 of the Disaster Management Act.

Adv. Ayyubi said that Maulana Saad has been cooperating with the police and is willing to cooperate with the police in any investigation of the case.  He said that on March 16, he also sent a letter to Crime Branch Inspector Satish Kumar who is the Investigation Officer (IO) in the case, promising his cooperation in the probe.

In the letter, Maulana Saad has also demanded a copy of “FIR No. 63/2020 dated 31.03.2020 U/s 188/269/270/271/120B IPC, U/s 3 Epidemic Disease Act and U/s 51/58 of the Disaster Management Act, PS Crime Branch, Rohini, New Delhi”.

He has also demanded to know if any new section has been added in the FIR.

Tablighi chief said, “I have already joined investigation by replying two notices U/S 91 CrPC dated 01.04.2020 and 02.04.2020 both issued by your good offices (Crime Branch).”

“It is reiterated that I am always ready and willing to cooperate with the investigation being conducted by you”, Tablighi Jamaat chief said in the letter.

As for arrest of Maulana Saad, Adv. Ayyubi said that police had yet not sought his arrest. “He was under quarantine for 14 days. As the quarantine period has been extended by seven days more for every suspect, Maulana Saad has also got seven days more in quarantine”, said the advocate.

Adv. Ayyubi said that Maulana was not running away. He would cooperate with the police in investigations.