The Delhi Police has charged the chief of a Delhi-based Tablighi Jamaat Markaz, Maulana Muhammad Saad Khandalvi, under stringent sections for culpable homicide not amounting to murder, officials said.
Sources said that the Delhi Police Crime Branch will decide whether to arrest Maulana Saad after recording his statement, India Today reported on Wednesday.
The development comes after Maulana Saad completed quarantine period. The cleric was last seen on March 28 and later claimed through an audio message that he was in self-isolation.
Sources said that Section 304 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) has been added in the FIR lodged against Saad and others.
The previous sections of the IPC under which Maulana Saad was booked were bailable but after the addition of Section 304, the Islamic preacher and others won't be able to secure bail form the police station.
Maulana Saad was earlier served two notices, in which he was asked 26 questions in connection with the probe against him and his organisation.
The Delhi Police Crime Branch is probing Maulana Saad and others for violating government orders on gathering restrictions as well.
Many members of Tablighi Jamaat, who had attended the congregation in last month, died due to Covid-19 infection, whereas over thousands have tested positive and are being treated.
Police have asked 18 people to join the probe including Maulana Saad.
Police have also issued a look-out-circular against around 2,000 Tablighi Jamaat members including the foreign nationals so that they can't leave the country.
According to sources, Maulana Saad provided answers to a few questions and told the police he did not have access to details about the other queries since he was in self-isolation.
The Delhi Police is also investigating the Markaz's funding.
Police are now expected to record the cleric's statement. His representative said last month that he would appear before the police if called, and that the sections under which he was booked were bailable.
A religious congregation held in the month of March at a Markaz, located in Delhi's Nizamuddin area, has been linked to a large cluster of coronavirus cases across India.