"Here's audio proof of how Tablighi Jamaat defied lockdown. Maulana calls lockdown anti-Muslim conspiracy," reported CNN News-18 on Tuesday night, many hours after the religious meet at Delhi's Nizamuddin mosque earlier this month was discovered to have created the biggest coronavirus cluster in parts of India. From just the Telugu States, about 2000 people attended the religious congregations.

"Do you want to run away from death? How will you escape from Allah? Don't listen to them. Don't stop offering Namaz. Don't follow social distancing. They are just trying to separate Muslims and stop us from following our path. The disease will end very soon, but our faith in Allah must not end," Maulana Saad, the Markaz chief, is heard saying. As per the TV channel, the recording pertains to March 21.

Meanwhile, sharp reactions are coming from all quarters. MA Naqvi, the Union Minority Affairs Minister, today said that it is a Talibani crime that the Tablighi Jamaat has committed. "Such a criminal act can not be forgiven. They have put lives of many people in danger. Strict action should be taken against such people and organizations that defy government directions," he said.