Tablighi FIR: Journalist Claims Maulana Saad Audio Clip 'Doctored', Police Deny Report, Summon Reporter

The Delhi Police on Sunday evening issued a notice to The Indian Express journalist for "misreporting" on the Tablighi Jamaat inquiry and said the report was "factually incorrect...purely conjectural".

In the notice, sent to the city editor and the chief reporter of the newspaper, the police have asked the reporter to join the probe into the Markaz Nizamuddin event from Monday or face legal action that may attract a jail term and a fine.

The police have invoked Section 160 (police officer's power to require the attendance of witnesses) of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) against the newspaper's Special Correspondent Mahender Singh Manral and have asked him to appear with "all relevant documents/material required for the purpose of investigation".

On Sunday, The Indian Express had earlier reported that the Delhi Police Crime Branch has said that the audio clip of Markaz head Maulana Saad Kandhalvi, in which he was heard asking Tablighi Jamaat members not to comply with social distancing may be "doctored" and manipulated using different audio files.

The audio clip has a mention in the FIR registered against the Maulana Saad for the Tablighi Jamaat congregation in March. The police have sent all the separate audio clips and the allegedly doctored clip to a forensic science laboratory.

The FIR was filed based on a complaint by SHO (Hazrat Nizamuddin) Mukesh Walia, who alleged that "an audio recording purportedly by Maulana Mohd Saad was found in circulation on WhatsApp on March 21, in which the speaker was heard asking his followers to defy the lockdown and social distancing, and to attend the religious gathering of the Markaz".

Also Read: 'It's Crime To Hide Infection': CM Yogi Adityanth Blames Tablighi Jamaat For Spread Of COVID-19