An Indian court on Friday granted bail to 82 Bangladeshis who were charged for attending the Tablighi Jamaat congregation in Delhi for allegedly violating visa conditions, indulging in missionary activities illegally and violating Indian government guidelines, issued in the wake of Covid-19 outbreak, NDTV reports.
Delhi court’s Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Gurmohina Kaur granted the relief to the Bangladeshis on furnishing a personal bond of Rs10,000 each.
Till date, 371 foreign nationals from 31 different countries, who were charge sheeted in the case, have been granted bail by the court.
The police had in June filed 59 charge sheets, including supplementaries, against 956 foreigners belonging to 36 different countries in the case.
The accused who were granted bail Friday will file their plea bargaining applications on Saturday, said advocates Ashima Mandla, Mandakini Singh and Fahim Khan, appearing for them.
Under plea bargaining, the accused plead guilty to the offence, praying for a lesser punishment.
The Delhi Police have told the local court that there was no evidence to file culpable homicide not amounting to murder charges against the 956 foreign nationals who had attended the Tablighi Jamaat congregation in Delhi in March, News 18 reported on Thursday.
The police, however, added that they were still conducting investigations against other accused people, including Maulana Saad Kandhlawi and his son. Kandhlawi has been charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder after some of the attendees died of the coronavirus.
Thousands of Indians and hundreds of foreigners had attended the Tablighi Jamaat conference held in the Nizamuddin area early in March. It later emerged as a coronavirus hotspot.
After the event, many participants returned home across the country while others travelled to meetings, raising concerns about the scale of the potential spread of infection. The Tablighi Jamaat is a Sunni Muslim sect with followers in over 80 countries.
Indian government has blacklisted over 2,500 Tablighi members and prohibited their entry into the country for 10 years.
