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‘Religious conversion': 10 held from six states
‘Religious conversion': 10 held from six states

Indian Express

time12 hours ago

  • Indian Express

‘Religious conversion': 10 held from six states

The Uttar Pradesh Police on Saturday claimed to have busted a network allegedly indulging in illegal religious conversions with the arrest of 10 people from six states in connection with its probe into abduction of two sisters from Agra in March this year. Police said during the investigation into the abduction of the sisters, aged 33 and 18, they found evidence indicating the involvement of a group operating across multiple states. Uttar Pradesh DGP Rajeev Krishna confirmed the arrest of 10 people. The police traced the Agra sisters to a house in Kolkata on Friday and they were rescued in presence of their family members, said a police officer. Police said the accused would allegedly lure young women, particularly minors, across states through deceitful means for religious conversion and were receiving funds from Canada and other countries to run their operations. Police said preliminary investigations suggest the group's link with organisations like PFI, SDPI and some extremist groups in Pakistan. In the process of tracing the sisters, the Agra police detected the network of a group and secured non-bailable warrants against the accused. Eleven teams were dispatched to different states, including West Bengal, Goa, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Rajasthan, to make the arrests, police said. Those arrested – all aged between 18 years and 35 years — have been identified as Ayesha alias S B Krishna from Goa; Ali Hasan alias Shekhar Roy, Ritwanik and Osama from Kolkata; Rahman Qureshi from Agra; Abu Talib from Muzaffarnagar; Abdur Rahman alias Rupendra Singh from Dehradun; Mohammad Ali and Junaid Qureshi from Rajasthan; and Mustafa alias Manoj from Delhi. The accused were engaged in various occupations, ranging from private and government jobs to running businesses. One of their associates is abroad, police said. According to the police, the accused were playing varied roles such as arranging and distributing funds, offering safe houses, providing legal assistance, supplying new phones and SIM cards, preparing documents for religious conversion, etc. Police said the number of religious conversions undertaken by the network would be clear after the questioning of the accused. Agra Police Commissioner Deepak Kumar said they have obtained a 10-day police custody of the accused from an Agra court. DGP Krishna said the fresh arrests were part of the 'Mission Asmita', under which two persons, named Mohammad Umar Gautam and Jahangir Alam Qasmi, were arrested earlier for their involvement in religious conversions. Recently, Jamaluddin alias Chhangur Baba and his associates were arrested for running an illegal conversion racket in Balrampur district.

UP Police arrests 10 from 6 states for running ‘religious conversion racket'
UP Police arrests 10 from 6 states for running ‘religious conversion racket'

Indian Express

time12 hours ago

  • Indian Express

UP Police arrests 10 from 6 states for running ‘religious conversion racket'

The Uttar Pradesh Police on Saturday claimed to have busted a network allegedly indulging in illegal religious conversions with the arrest of 10 people from six states in connection with its probe into abduction of two sisters from Agra in March this year. Police said during the investigation into the abduction of the sisters, aged 33 and 18, they found evidence indicating the involvement of a group operating across multiple states. Uttar Pradesh DGP Rajeev Krishna confirmed the arrest of 10 people. The police traced the Agra sisters to a house in Kolkata on Friday and they were rescued in presence of their family members, said a police officer. Police said the accused would allegedly lure young women, particularly minors, across states through deceitful means for religious conversion and were receiving funds from Canada and other countries to run their operations. Police said preliminary investigations suggest the group's link with organisations like PFI, SDPI and some extremist groups in Pakistan. In the process of tracing the sisters, the Agra police detected the network of a group and secured non-bailable warrants against the accused. Eleven teams were dispatched to different states, including West Bengal, Goa, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Rajasthan, to make the arrests, police said. Those arrested – all aged between 18 years and 35 years — have been identified as Ayesha alias S B Krishna from Goa; Ali Hasan alias Shekhar Roy, Ritwanik and Osama from Kolkata; Rahman Qureshi from Agra; Abu Talib from Muzaffarnagar; Abdur Rahman alias Rupendra Singh from Dehradun; Mohammad Ali and Junaid Qureshi from Rajasthan; and Mustafa alias Manoj from Delhi. The accused were engaged in various occupations, ranging from private and government jobs to running businesses. One of their associates is abroad, police said. According to the police, the accused were playing varied roles such as arranging and distributing funds, offering safe houses, providing legal assistance, supplying new phones and SIM cards, preparing documents for religious conversion, etc. Police said the number of religious conversions undertaken by the network would be clear after the questioning of the accused. Agra Police Commissioner Deepak Kumar said they have obtained a 10-day police custody of the accused from an Agra court. DGP Krishna said the fresh arrests were part of the 'Mission Asmita', under which two persons, named Mohammad Umar Gautam and Jahangir Alam Qasmi, were arrested earlier for their involvement in religious conversions. Recently, Jamaluddin alias Chhangur Baba and his associates were arrested for running an illegal conversion racket in Balrampur district. Given the gravity of these incidents, specialized units of the UP Police, including the Special Task Force (STF) and the Anti-Terror Squad (ATS), have been roped in to assist with the ongoing investigation, Director General of Police Rajeev Krishna said.

10 arrested from six states for running inter-state religious conversion, radicalisation racket
10 arrested from six states for running inter-state religious conversion, radicalisation racket

Time of India

time14 hours ago

  • Time of India

10 arrested from six states for running inter-state religious conversion, radicalisation racket

Lucknow: While probing the mysterious disappearance of two sisters, aged 33 and 18, in Agra, Uttar Pradesh Police uncovered a sophisticated network involved in illegal religious conversions and radicalisation. The breakthrough led to a coordinated crackdown and the arrest of 10 operatives across six states, including fresh arrests on Saturday. The first arrest came of Shekhar Roy and Osama from Kolkata, who had trapped the two sisters from Agra and converted them. Their arrest led to the uncovering of the gang. Those arrested include a woman named SB Krishna from Goa, Shekhar Roy and Osama from Kolkata, Rehman Qureshi from Agra, Mohammed Ali, Ali and Junaid Qureshi from Jaipur, Abu Talib from Muzaffarnagar, Manoj from Delhi, and Abur Rehman from Dehradun. An Agra court granted a ten-day police custody remand for all the ten accused. Director general of police (DGP) Rajeev Krishna in Lucknow told reporters that the network operated through "love jihad" tactics, online radicalisation, and foreign funding from Canada, the USA, Dubai, and London, with transactions routed via dark web. "The network was funnelling money through the dark web and adopting tactics resembling the signature style of ISIS," the state police chief said. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 5 Books Warren Buffett Wants You To Read in 2025 Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo Preliminary findings suggest that the group had active ties with banned outfits like PFI and SDPI, with handlers connected to Pakistan-based operatives. The DGP said that the action forms part of 'Mission Asmita', an internal initiative launched to confront emerging challenges, including alleged forced/deceitful conversion, online radicalisation, and funding channels purportedly exploiting "love jihad" tactics. "In the past, under this mission, we made arrests of Umar Gautam and Mufti Jahangir Alam, who were arrested by UP ATS in 2021 for running a pan-India religious conversion racket. The two were also convicted for a life term by a court in 2024," said another senior police officer. Agra police commissioner Deepak Kumar, who came all the way to Lucknow, said that it all began after an FIR was registered regarding the March disappearance of two sisters. It was lodged at Sadar Bazar police station, Agra, and later transferred for technical probes to the district cyber police station. Sections 87, 111(3), and 111(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and sections 3/5 of the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021, were invoked. Investigators say evidence pointed to a wider organised operation spanning multiple states. "When we dug deeper, a pan-India syndicate surfaced. Forty-five teams were sent to Goa, West Bengal, Delhi, Uttarakhand, and Rajasthan, based on surveillance. We made arrests and found that the network allegedly targeted vulnerable women through emotional manipulation, facilitated radicalisation via curated content, and arranged conversions with necessary documentation. It provided safe houses, managed foreign funds from Canada and the US, and offered operational support, including new phones, SIM cards, legal assistance, and internal communication channels," said Kumar. "We will now conduct a sustained interrogation of the accused," said Kumar.

U.P. police busts illegal religious conversion racket, arrest 10 accused
U.P. police busts illegal religious conversion racket, arrest 10 accused

The Hindu

time15 hours ago

  • The Hindu

U.P. police busts illegal religious conversion racket, arrest 10 accused

Uttar Pradesh Police on Saturday (July 19, 2025) said it arrested 10 individuals from six States involved in a large-scale illegal religious conversion racket. The arrests were made from Rajasthan, West Bengal, Uttarakhand, Delhi and Goa apart from U.P. 'The probe began in Agra in March after two sisters aged 18 and 33 were reported missing. Investigations revealed that they were allegedly coerced into religious conversion and were undergoing radicalization. One of the sisters had also put a picture of a girl holding an AK 47 rifle as her profile picture on a social media platform. Preliminary investigations found that the sisters were targeted by a gang involved in 'love jihad' and radicalization,' said Agra Commissioner of Police Deepak Kumar. He added evidence of the racket receiving funding originating from America and Canada is also noticed during investigation,'. 'The arrested individuals activities included receiving illicit funds, providing safe houses for covert operations, offering legal advice, and providing other forms of assistance to facilitate the conversions and radicalization,' added the police. In light of multi State and transnational imprints of the racket dedicated units of the State police, including the Special Task Force (STF) and the Anti-Terror Squad (ATS), are deployed to assist with the ongoing investigation. 'This action is part of 'Mission Asmita', an ongoing initiative aimed at dismantling such illicit syndicates,' added the U.P. police. Mission Asmita, is a dedicate initiative of U.P. police to take on criminals involved in serious offenses such as illegal conversions, radicalization, love jihad and deliberate attempts to undermine national security with the help of transnational network.

'ISIS-style' conversion racket busted in UP, 10 from six states arrested
'ISIS-style' conversion racket busted in UP, 10 from six states arrested

India Today

time16 hours ago

  • India Today

'ISIS-style' conversion racket busted in UP, 10 from six states arrested

The Uttar Pradesh Police on Saturday said they have busted a large-scale illegal religious conversion racket and arrested 10 people from six probe began in Agra in March after two sisters -- aged 33 and 18 -- were reported missing. Investigations revealed that they were allegedly coerced into religious conversion and were undergoing radicalisation, the police of the sisters had also put a picture of a girl holding an AK-47 rifle as her profile picture on a social media platform, they said."Preliminary investigations found that the sisters were targeted by a gang involved in 'love jihad' and radicalisation," Agra Commissioner of Police Deepak Kumar said."We also found clues about their funding originating from America and Canada," he Agra police have made 10 arrests in connection with the case. While three were arrested from Rajasthan, two each were nabbed from Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal and one each from Goa, Uttarakhand and Delhi."The modus operandi of the gang involved in illegal conversion and radicalisation bears a signature of ISIS," Commissioner Kumar further arrested individuals played diverse roles within this intricate network. Their activities included receiving illicit funds, providing safe houses for covert operations, offering legal advice, and providing other forms of assistance to facilitate the conversions and radicalisation, the commissioner the gravity of these incidents, specialised units of the UP Police, including the Special Task Force (STF) and the Anti-Terror Squad (ATS), have been roped in to assist with the ongoing investigation, Director General of Police Rajeev action is part of 'Mission Asmita', an ongoing initiative aimed at dismantling such illicit Asmita specifically targets criminals involved in serious offences such as 'love jihad', illegal conversions, radicalisation, and deliberate attempts to undermine national security by funnelling international jihadist funding through clandestine networks, including the dark web, DGP Krishna reiterated.- EndsMust Watch advertisement

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