In UP religious conversion racket, ED files money laundering case

New Delhi, June 25: The Enforcement Directorate has filed a case under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in connection with the religious conversion racket that was busted by the UP ATS.

The ED named Mufti Qazi Jahangir and Mohammad Umar Gautam as the main accused in the case. The ED will probe into the foreign funding and money laundering angles in the case.

After this case was busted, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Yogi Adityanath ordered action under the Gangster Act and National Security Act. The UP police said that this racket involved the conversion of deaf children and women to Islam.

I converted 1,000 non-Muslims to Islam by marrying them all to Muslims, Mohammad Umar Gautam boasted before the police. Umar along with Mufti Qazi Jahangir Alam Qasm from Delhi's Jamia Nagar were arrested by the police for running an outfit involved in converting deaf and dumb students and other poor people to Islam in Uttar Pradesh with funding from the Pakistan's ISI. The arrests were made by Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terror Squad following the registration of an FIR in the case at Lucknow's ATS police station.

Gautam lived in Batla House of Jamia Nagar, the infamous site of September 2008 encounter between the Special Cell of Delhi police and Indian Mujahideen operatives, in which Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma was gunned down by terrorists, two of whom were shot dead and two arrested, while two other had escaped. Kumar said Gautam, who is himself a convert to Islam from Hinduism, boasted to the police of having converted at least 1,000 people to Islam, luring them with marriage, money and jobs.

Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar said that during interrogation, Gautam boasted and said, " I converted at least 1,000 non-Muslims to Islam, marrying them all to Muslims."

The outfit that they ran is named Islamic Dawah Center, having access of funds from Pakistan's ISI and other foreign agencies, said Kumar. The ADGP said the ATS had been working on the case on the intelligence that some people were getting funds from ISI and other foreign agencies for converting poor people to Islam and spreading communal enmity in the society. The ATS probe has resulted in the duo's arrest, said Kumar, adding they have been booked on various charges including those under the Indian Penal Code and Uttar Pradesh's stringent anti-conversion law.

Investigation revealed that a particular school for hearing and speech impaired in Noida was also approached to entice them with promises of employment and money to get them converted to Islam.

When the children were approached by the police they were tight-lipped as these men had driven fear into them. The police learnt that the victims were radicalised and told that Islam is a better religion. They were also lured with employment and money. The police say that there are more accused under the radar and are being tracked.