In a severe action, the police in Bihar have sent 28 foreign nationals to jail for violating the visa norms. Police said all of them had reached India on tourist visas but were found indulging in religious activities.

The jailed Muslim preachers had also attended the last month’s Tablighi Jamaat event at Nizamuddin Markaz in Delhi. Of the 28 jailed, a maximum of 11 hails from Malaysia, 9 from Kyrgyzstan, 7 from Indonesia and One from Kazakhstan.

According to police, 17 Muslim preachers were arrested from Patna while the remaining 11 were nabbed in Buxur. Police said all of them had been found hiding in various mosques and secretly carrying out Islamic activities even though the authorities had enforced lockdown to check the spread of Coronavirus.

Subsequently, they were caught and placed under quarantine but none of them tested positive for Corona. On Monday when they completed 14-day mandatory quarantine, they were made to undergo another test. As they again tested negative, they were arrested and sent to jail. While 17 persons were sent to Beur jail, the remaining 11 were forwarded to Buxur jail.

“All of them had come on tourist visa but were found indulging in religious activities. So they were booked and sent to jail,” Inspector General of Police, Patna, Sanjay Singh told a local media today. According to the police, the arrested foreign nationals had also not filled up the Form C, an arrival report of foreigners in an Indian hotel/homestay/serviced apartment or with an Indian family.

They had reached Bihar at a time when the state government had imposed the lockdown and every citizen was asked to follow social distancing. However, these foreign nationals were caught hiding in various mosques and stealthily carrying out religious activities which prompted the authorities to register cases against them.

As per the report, the jailed foreign nationals have been kept in a separate ward and none is allowed to meet them.

Authorities said the state has reported a surge in Covid-19 cases after the people associated with the Tablighi Jamaat returned from an even in Delhi. At least 8 persons from Begusarai and Nawada tested positive for Covid-19 are said to have come in contact with Jamaat members. Bihar has reported a total of 66 Covid-19 positive cases so far.