PONDA: The Fatima Masjid at Silva Nagar in Ponda on Thursday clarified the nine persons staying at its facility, were not a part of the congregation that gathered at Nizamuddin in Delhi.
This clarification comes in the wake of reports in a section of print and social media that nine persons who attended the Nizamuddin congregation were hiding at the masjid.
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In a press release issued here, the Masjid authorities said that without verifying the truth, the media caused panic among the people in the State.
“The nine persons are not hiding, but instead are stranded in the Goa,” says the press release.
According to the press release, the nine persons stranded at the masjid are from Gujarat and not from Delhi.
“The group of nine people had travelled by railway from Anand in Gujarat to Kottayam, Kerala on March 3 (they went on a religious tour). On their return, they visited the masjid in Ponda after getting down at Margao on March 19. They reached the Ponda masjid by a private vehicle on March 20, at 9 am. They were supposed to leave back to Anand on April 1, but due to the lockdown, they got stranded at Fatima Madarasa in Ponda,” says the press release issued by the chairman of Fatima Madrasa.
According to the press release, the chairman of Fatima Madarasa had filed an application on March 31 to Ponda Deputy Collector for travel permission for the nine persons.
However, in his reply, the deputy collector reportedly had advised him to house the nine persons where they are, during the lockdown period.
Meanwhile, Ponda police said that following complaints by locals, the police have presently quarantined all the nine persons at Mayem residency and are investigating their travel history.
Meanwhile, former Curti Panch Sajjad Mulla said that people should not panic. “All the nine are stranded in Goa and we are having return ticket of April 1. They have no connection with Delhi Nizammuddin. They are all from Gujarat and during Goa visit they were stranded due to lockdown. The news that they were hiding is false and so people should not panic,” he said.
Meanwhile, 286 persons in Ponda are either in home quarantine or sent to quarantine homes.
