India: 9 Thai nationals released on bail

By Ahmad Adil

NEW DELHI, India (AA) - An Indian court released on bail Monday nine Thai nationals who were jailed for attending a congregation of Tablighi Jamaat, an organization of Muslim preachers, which allegedly caused a local coronavirus outbreak.

The foreigners were jailed in April in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh. They cannot return to their country until the end of their case.

In March, cases were registered against hundreds of its members, both foreign and Indian nationals, for attending what the government claimed was a "super-spreader event" in the capital Delhi.

The government went a step further in April announcing that 960 foreign nationals in India were blacklisted for their involvement in the Tablighi Jamaat.

Now as the court has started quashing the cases, many are slowly returning home. Last week, a court in Delhi allowed the deportation of eight of its members.

Meanwhile, India's coronavirus cases on Sunday crossed 8.55 million after the country registered over 45,000 new infections in the last 24 hours.