Bengaluru: Protest after foreign Tablighi members quarantined in Banaswadi

Five foreign members of the Tablighi Jamaat, who are under quarantine in the city, were shifted from a Yelahanka hotel to a hotel in Banaswadi on Saturday.

The Tablighi Jamaat members from England, France, Kenya and Kyrgyzstan were traced to a locality in South Bengaluru and put under quarantine at Royal Orchid Resort and 9th Mile Dhaba, both located near the Jakkur Flying Club on Ballari Road, on April 9. But Yalahanka MLA, S R Vishwanath, raised objections to their stay in his constituency, a senior police officer said.

Rohini Katoch Sepat, Deputy Commissioner of Police (South), wrote to the Foreigners’ Regional Registration Office (FRRO) on Saturday, stating that the foreigners had been shifted to OYO Townhouse in Banaswadi. She requested the FRRO to instruct the jurisdictional Ramamurthy Nagar police to provide them security.

But the transfer was almost immediately opposed by the local BJP corporator and a few local residents. A large crowd led by Kacharakanahalli corporator Padmanabha Reddy of the BJP staged a flash protest outside the Banaswadi police station, demanding that the foreigners be shifted elsewhere.

The residents pointed out that their neighbourhood was thickly populated and feared the local spread of Covid-19 infection if any foreigner was infected.