New Delhi, Apr 16 (IANS): In a strong defence, the Delhi Minority Commission has written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, contending that there was no conspiracy in the Tablighi Jamaat congregation in the capital last month but "insensitiveness towards to the pandemic".

In the letter written on Tuesday, DMCA Chairperson Zafarul Islam Khan said: "Not every Tablighi is corona-infected and not every Muslim is Tablighi. There was no conspiracy on part of the people stranded in the Tablighi Markaz or its leadership. They were innocent victims of this unseen epidemic like anyone else on this planet."

"One section of the Tablighi Markaz leadership was insensitive and it failed to anticipate and realise the impending danger or its scale and hence continued its programmes as per schedule," he wrote.

The other section of Tablighi Jamaat, based in Turkman Gate, had cancelled all its programmes since early March 2020.

"The Nizamuddin Tablighi leadership was not alone in this. There are dozens of instances in Delhi and across the country where political leaders and ordinary people showed carelessness and insensitivity even after the announcement of the lockdown," Khan wrote.

As on Thursday, the total number of coronavirus cases in India reached 12,759, including the foreign nationals, with 10,824 active cases, the Union Health Ministry said.

The Health Ministry said in its daily update that 420 deaths have been reported in India so far, with the highest -- 187 -- getting reported from Maharashtra, followed by Madhya Pradesh, where 53 deaths have been reported so far.

"A total of 1,514 patients have been cured and discharged," it said.