Prayagraj: Looking for those with travel history, cops comb through temples, mosques

PRAYAGRAJ: Police searched over 400 temples, mosques, madrassa and hotels across the city on Wednesday looking for persons with a travel history and who might be living in such establishments without informing the police.
The raids come a day after nine persons — including seven Indonesians — were found hiding in a local mosque in Prayagraj after attending the Tablighi Jamaat event in Delhi, which is feared to have led to a spurt in novel coronavirus cases in the national capital.The attendees and other persons staying on the mosque’s premises have been quarantined in guest houses in Attarsuiya and Georgetown.
The exercise was aimed to identify those staying in places of worship, madrassas, hotels and inns legally or illegally.
SSP (Prayagraj) Satyarth Anirudh Pankaj said that police teams checked 404 religious places including mosques and temples in the city on Wednesday. “We found 10 foreign nationals — nine from Thailand and one from Bangladesh — staying at a mosque near Karamat Ki Chowki. However, the 10 had already informed the local police about their stay,” the SSP added.
"In Daraganj, 21 persons from Andhra Pradesh were found staying at Jagannath Shastri temple in Bakshi Khurd since from March 21. We also found 35 Bengaluru residents staying at the Sangam Bari temple since March 21,” he added.
Another group of 11 persons was found staying at the Bari Mosque in Daraganj since March 23 and had arrived in the city on March 1.
The SSP said that police teams have checked 99 establishments in Kotwali police circle, 42 in Shahganj, 22 in Khuldabad, 29 in Kareli, 28 in Civil Lines, 54 in Dhoomanganj, 24 in Cantonment, 48 in Kydganj, 18 in Mutthiganj, 27 in Attarsuiya, two in Shivkuti, and eight in Daraganj.
Meanwhile, more than 30 Prayagraj residents were booked on the charges of violating rules of the nationwide lockdown, which was announced to check the spread of novel coronavirus and entered its eighth day on Wednesday.
Police maintained strict vigil on interstate borders and prohibited entry of vehicles, barring those ferrying essential commodities.
Silence continued to reign on city roads on Wednesday too as people stayed indoors in the wake of the 21-day lockdown.
Additional mobile police teams were deployed in Rajapur, Ashok Nagar, Civil Lines, Khuldabad, Mutthiganj, Ram Bagh, Kareli, Dhoomanganj and adjoining areas. Only vegetable and milk vendors were allowed to move around the city between 7am and 10am.
A team of senior police officials including IG (Prayagraj range) KP Singh on Wednesday conducted a surprise check in shops to ascertain whether people were practising social distancing while stepping out of their homes.