Ajit Doval reportedly visited the Nizamuddin Markaz on Saturday. (File)
Amid mounting concerns over a religious centre in Delhi's Nizamuddin area emerging as a major hotspot for the spread of coronavirus across the country, a sermon allegedly by the group's leader, disregarding the government's social distancing guidelines, has become key evidence.
The audio of the sermon posted on a YouTube channel linked to the Nizamuddin Markaz or centre of the Sunni Muslim missionary movement Tablighi Jamaat is part of the investigation following a police complaint filed against the administration, sources said.
According to them, the speaker in the audio, said to be Maulana Saad, is heard terming the directions of doctors as "a conspiracy to keep Muslims away from fellow Muslims".
"Yes, there is a virus. But 70,000 angels are with me and if they can't save me, who will? This is the time for more such gatherings, not the time to avoid each other...Who says if we meet then disease will spread? The disease will pass... ...This is a plan to alienate Muslims from each other," says the speaker.
The group's members, from India and abroad, started gathering from the beginning of March for the meet, disregarding warnings about social distancing as the pandemic raged worldwide.
With a police station just 200 metres away, the 100-year-old Markaz Nizamuddin started filling up with delegates despite the Delhi government's ban on large gatherings.
The police claim they were able to clear one batch before the March 22 Janata Curfew. But immediately after that, they started congregating again.
The Delhi Police also said a health team was regularly visiting Markaz but office bearers of the group were not cooperating.
By the time the country went into total lockdown, the building was swarming with thousands of people from across India and countries like Malaysia and Indonesia.
Since Sunday, more than 2,000 people who were camping at the centre's 6-storey dormitory have been evacuated and 134 attendees have been found to be positive for coronavirus - nearly a tenth of all confirmed active cases in India.
Sources in the Union Home Ministry - which controls the Delhi Police - said that despite instructions from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's office, officials at the Markaz refused to cooperate with authorities till March 21 and maintained that only those who are unwell should be medically examined.
They claimed it was an intervention by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval - asked by Union Home Minister Amit Shah - that ultimately led to the officials of the Tablighi Jamaat agreeing to vacate the building and let people be taken to hospitals.
Mr Doval spoke to officials at Nizamuddin centre late on Saturday night including Maulana Saad.
By then, around 200 people inside the building were showing symptoms of coronavirus.
A Home Ministry letter warning of Tablighi members carrying the virus went to states on March 28, almost 10 days after the police reported a worrying build-up at the mosque.