New Delhi: The Nizamuddin Markaz building was opened for Shab-e-Barat prayers on Sunday, nearly a year after it was shut down, with the number of permitted visitors capped at 50, reported the Indian Express.

The Nizamuddin Markaz, a mosque in South Delhi, had been sealed in mid-March and hundreds of followers who had attended the Tablighi Jamaat event, including some from Indonesia, Malaysia and Bangladesh, were taken into quarantine for months. In Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and other states, they were sent straight to jail.

The locality was subsequently declared a COVID-19 hotspot and charged many of the attendees under several sections of the Indian Penal Code, the Epidemic Diseases Act and the National Disaster Management Act and Foreigners Act for defying government restrictions.

Last Wednesday, the Centre informed the Delhi high court that 50 people chosen by the state wakf board would be permitted to offer prayers at the mosque on the occasion of Shab-e-Barat after the names of the selected individuals were provided to the station house officer of the local police station.

Speaking to the national daily about the reopening of the mosque, a Tablighi Jamaat member, who visited the markaz on Sunday, said, “It is good that it has been opened but more people should have been allowed. We are happy to obey rules but there should be stricter implementation in gatherings across India during elections, where social distancing is being ignored.” 

He also lamented the treatment members of the Jamaat were subjected to by the government and media. “The media declared us human bombs when the fact was that people here were trapped like at many other places across the world due to sudden lockdown.”

At 8 pm on Sunday, the police ordered the ordered closure of shops in the market surrounding the markaz. Some locals asked police officials to let them enter but were turned back. “This is festival time and Covid is spreading fast. We cannot allow many people to gather,” said an officer.

A volunteer at the Markaz pointed out that the building had a capacity to accommodate thousands and hence social distancing norms were maintained inside the premises. “Fifty people have been allowed as of now… Government guidelines are being strictly followed. We hope that just like other places, be it a masjid, mandir or a gurdwara, where visitors have been allowed, people are allowed here too,” he said,

In its plea before the high court, the Wakf Board had contended that even after Unlock-1 guidelines permitted religious places outside containment zones to be opened, the Markaz – comprising of the Masjid Bangley Wali, Madarsa Kashif-ul-uloom and a hostel – was still locked up. The Centre’s permission for 50 visitors came after the Waqf Board urged the court to permit some individuals to pray at the mosque for Shab-e-Barat and said that only the mosque would be used and not the madrasa.