Nine persons from Gujarat quarantined

The police have traced nine maulvis from Shura Tablighi Jamaat in Gujarat to a rented house in Virajpet taluk, Kodagu SP Suman D Pennekar said, adding that the police are monitoring them.

Nine persons from Gujarat and the owner of the house have been admitted to a facility set up by the district administration to quarantine people, situated on the outskirts of Madikeri.

Their throat swab samples have been collected and sent for testing to Mysuru, the SP told media persons.

It is said that all the nine from Gujarat had attended a religious gathering held in Mumbai in the month of January. They had come to Virajpet in Kodagu on February 3 and were part of a religious programme held at a local masjid for 40 days. When they were about to return to their native place, the lockdown was announced and all modes of transportation were affected.

She said that the nine had not travelled outside from the day they landed in the district. No symptoms of COVID-19 have been found in them. As a precautionary measure, they will be quarantined, explained the SP.

Based on the direction of the government, an appeal was made to furnish details on those who had taken part in Jamaat religious gathering. The team in spite of staying in the district did not furnish details and claimed that they got a medical checkup done by a local doctor in Virajpet. “We will cross-check their statement on the health checkup. An FIR will be registered in case if they were found furnishing wrong information to the police,” said Suman D Pennekar.