Two persons involved in religious conversion in Uttar Pradesh have been arrested by the Uttar Pradesh ATS. According to police, the duo targeted poor families, jobless youngsters, and disabled persons, particularly those with hearing and speech impairments, as well as children, forcing them to convert to other Religion. Umar Gautam and Mufti Qazi Jehangir have been recognised as the perpetrators. They were apprehended in Delhi’s Jamia Nagar.
Umar Gautam was arrested after three rounds of interrogation, during which it was revealed that he had received financing from overseas sources, including Pakistan’s renowned espionage agency ISI, to persuade people to convert to Islam through the use of money and other bribes.
Prashant Kumar, Uttar Pradesh ADG (Law and Order), said that the arrested were running a conversion racket. He also mentioned that this might be a case of funding from ISI for religious conversions.
During interrogation, the duo informed that they converted around 250-300 people every year. They met people who were economically weak including women, children and disabled. He said that around 1,500 children at a deaf and dumb school in Noida embraced Islam, adding that thousands of such cases have been reported across the state.
According to authorities, Umar Gautan had converted to Islam. He resides at Jamia Nagar’s Batala House.
People were enticed to switch their religion for money and financial security, according to the senior officer. Many women have been compelled to alter their faith and married off, he claimed.
The defendants used to operate an organization called the ‘Islamic Dawa Centre,’ which received donations from all around the world. Police are also on the lookout for all those people who were entangled in the scheme and are conducting further investigations to see how they influenced others.
