Minister: 300 from Karnataka attended Delhi meet; 41 delegates traced to Bidar, Dharwad

BENGALURU: Nearly 300 people from Karnataka attended the Tablighi Jamaat congregation in Delhi in March, state home minister Basavaraj Bommai said on Tuesday, creating a “dangerous situation” in the state.
The whopping number came a day after it emerged that a 65-year-old Tumakuru man, who died of Covid-19 days ago, had attended the gathering at a mosque in Nizamuddin West in southeast Delhi -- since dubbed a “super spreader”.The scale of the challenge before the authorities was evident by the end of the day: Only 41delegates — 26 from Bidar and 15 from Dharwad — have been traced, which leaves the remaining attendees and the vast network of their contacts during their return to the state and thereafter.
The Tumakuru preacher who attended the meet is learned to have had direct contact with at least 82 people, including 45 family members.
“We have conducted tests on 26 Bidar delegates who were traced. Results have come negative,” health minister and chairman of the Covid-19 task force, B Sriramulu, tweeted on Tuesday. “It is crucial for us to track down the other delegates.”
The number of state representatives at the meeting in the Nizamuddin Markaz (centre) underwent several revisions before Bommai issued the statement late evening.
No. of attendees could be higher
Nearly 300 people attended the conference and we are trying to locate them. We have ordered police to identify and quarantine them. It is a dangerous situation as each of them from different districts has been in contact with family friends and the public,” Bommai said.
Waqf Board sources said the number could be higher as many people from the state also attended a parallel congregation in Hyderabad. Many youngsters had accompanied the delegates to both conferences.
“We have alerted our personnel across the state and all district officers have been asked to trace every person who has held a jamaat within and outside the state in the past month,” said minority welfare department secretary Ibrahim Adoor.