Hyderabad, Telangana police on Saturday booked a government official, who tested positive for Covid-19, for not disclosing his participation at Tablighi Jamaat congregation in Delhi last month.

Police in Jangaon town registered the case against the official working in the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA). He is now undergoing treatment at state-run Gandhi Hospital in Hyderabad.

The official allegedly did not take permission from the department to go to Delhi for attending the Tablighi event and did not disclose it after his return. A police officer said the man continued moving in public after his return.

The state government had urged all those who attended the Delhi meet to come forward and undergo the screening.

He came forward for the test after several participants in the Delhi meet were found infected and some of them died.

Jangaon police booked a case against the official under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for negligence and disobedience to order promulgated by a public servant.

The man's family members were also shifted to Gandhi Hospital for screening. Officials said 70 people who came into contact with him since his return from Delhi were advised home quarantine.

Telangana has so far reported the death of nine persons, including eight of them who had attended Tablighi event. The state has so far recorded 229 Covid-19 positive cases, a majority of them attendees of the Delhi meet.