In Guwahati, a second masjid was sealed on 26th April last due to the novel coronavirus scare: the Milanpur Masjid No. 2 at Chandmari. However, as per reports the masjid was reopened the very next day after it was sanitized by the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC).
So what exactly happened?
As reported by residents of the area, the mowajjin of the mosque (the Imam’s helper), one Saifuddin Rahman, aged around 27, had returned to the mosque after a week’s stay at his village in Nalbari district that had been declared a red zone by the union health ministry and continues to remain so.
Rahman was already an asthma patient and was living in a damp quarter within the masjid’s premises along with his wife and kid. Around two weeks ago, he underwent a health check-up as his condition deteriorated having being under lockdown in the damp residence. After this, he moved back to his native village in Nalbari district along with his family, given that the mosque was closed due to the lockdown and also because he had limited resources on which to survive. Rahman also used to run a small shop near the masjid.
Now, with the Ramadan month having commenced, he was allegedly asked by someone from the masjid committee to come back and help the imam. Further, he himself mentioned that the masjid was providing with good food and as well as the necessities during this period. As such, he returned to Guwahati with his wife and kid.
How did he return?
Rahman returned from his village in Nalbari district on 26th April in an ambulance that was reportedly driven by his brother-in-law. When the residents of Milanpur found out about his return they informed the authorities about the same.
As per the government’s order, people in the red zones are not allowed to move out of the zone to any other place. Then how did Rahman get out of a red zone district without being caught? Questions are now being raised on the adequacy of monitoring done by the district authorities as well as the government in these highly vulnerable zones.
To continue with Rahman’s story, after he was reported to the authorities, he was taken to Gauhati Medical College & Hospital where he was tested for COVID-19 with a rapid testing kit. Meanwhile, the masjid was being sealed on the request of the residents who feared that it might turn into a hotspot.
However, Rahman tested negative and on that very day was asked to leave. Since he had no means to return to his village and the masjid was already sealed, he apparently went to Chandmari police station and reported himself.
Now, the second question that arises is: Was the report from the rapid testing kit sufficient to consider a person safe from corona, that too someone hailing from a red zone? Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has been repeatedly saying that the rapid testing kits are just a form of assurance, but for suspected cases, proper full-scale testing of COVID-19 is to be done. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICRM) has also on April 27 asked all state govts to stop the use of these kits and even return them due to wide variation in results.
So how was Saifuddin Rahman’s health report considered final by the concerned officials?
Residents of Milanpur alleged that the police later provided Rahman with a written permission to return home along with his family. They travelled back to Nalbari on Rahman’s two-wheeler that was already kept at his Milanpur masjid residence.
However, when G Plus tried to take details of the incident, the Chandmari PS officer-in-charge, Biswajit Deka, denied having any knowledge of the incident and said that the whole situation was handled by the health officials.
Further, officials of National Health Mission as also Ganesh Saikia, Joint Director of Health Services, refused to give any details of the whole incident. Saikia just mentioned that the mowajjin was sent back to his village.
This raises a lot of concern about the role of authorities. Was any case filed against Saifuddin Rahman?
The state government had been repeatedly pointing out that strict action will be taken against all violators for the smallest violation. There are provisions of cases to be registered as per the Disaster Management Act. Further, violators are also to be booked under Sections 269 and 270 of the Indian Penal Code as assured by the DGP, Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta in a press conference. Even Guwahati Municipal Corporation has issued an order to fine Rs. 1000 for people spitting and urinating in public.
With such strict rules having already been laid out for the smallest of violations, why was no known case registered against a person who was found moving out of a major red zone of the state? Wasn’t he supposed to have remained quarantined? Or was Rahman prescribed home quarantine?
While many questions remain unanswered on the way the Milanpur Masjid incident was handled, this one incident has also brought to light the many loopholes in the working of the administration, mainly of Nalbari and the Kamrup districts, in tackling this pandemic.
It is worth mentioning once again that the Milanpur Masjid No. 2 was sealed on the request of the local residents of the area and was reopened on the evening of 27th April after being sanitized by GMC. However, the mosque will remain closed for public as per coronavirus protocol.