An FIR was registered under theEpidemic Diseases Act against 16 people, including seven minors, associated with Tablighi Jamaat in Chhattisgarh's Korba district on Monday for allegedly hiding their travel history and resisting medical screening, police said.A 16-year-old boy, who tested positive for COVID-19 on April 4 and admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Raipur, is among them, they said.According to police, at least one person among the 16 had attended the Jamaat congregation at the Nizamuddin Markaz in Delhi last month, but didn't disclose this to authorities.The case was registered at Katghora police station based on a complaint lodged by Block Medical Officer (BMO), said Korba Superintendent of Police Abhishek Meena.Earlier, the 16 people had informed authorities that they came to Korba from Nagpur in Maharashtra on March 2.However, investigation revealed that they reached Korba on March 14, he said."They had also said that none of them had attended the religious congregation of Tablighi Jamaat in Nizamuddin last month, but it was found that one among them had attended the event on March 8-9 before coming here," the SP said.The congregation, also attended by some foreign nationals, became a prime catalyst for rapid spread of infection in many states of the country.Besides, when health officials decided to take their samples they allegedly resisted and did not cooperate, Meena said.They allegedly came in contact with people of their community in the area and even ate meals with them in violation of the quarantine protocol, he said.All the 16, including their head Mohammad Anwar Kamaal, were booked under sections 188 (defying lawful order of 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) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and provisions of the Epidemic Diseases Act 1897, he said.Nobody is arrested so far, the SP said.
