Conversion Racket Case: Life sentences for Islamic Preacher and associates in Lucknow
- In Reports
- 11:34 PM, Sep 11, 2024
- Myind Staff
On Wednesday, a special NIA-Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) court in Lucknow sentenced Islamic preacher Maulana Kalim Siddiqui, Islamic Da’wah Centre founder Mohammed Umar Gautam, and ten other individuals to life imprisonment. This verdict comes in connection with a 2021 case involving illegal religious conversions.
Along with the life sentences, the court also sentenced four of the twelve accused—Mohd. Salim, Rahul Bhola, Mannu Yadav, and Kunal Ashok Chaudhary—to ten years in prison under the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Religious Conversion Act, 2021.
In addition to Gautam and Siddiqui, the court sentenced Irfan Sheikh, Salauddin Zainuddin Sheikh, Prasad Rameshwar Kanware alias Adam, Arsalan Mustafa alias Bhupriya Bandon, Kaushar Alam, Faraz Shah, Dheeraj Govind Rao Jagtap, Sarfaraz Ali Jafri, Qazi Jahangir, and Abdullah Umar to life imprisonment under IPC Section 121A for conspiracy to commit an offence against the State.
Officials reported that the accused were part of the Islamic Da’wah Centre, a network allegedly involved in converting impoverished individuals and students with hearing disabilities to Islam. The group is also suspected of receiving funding from Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
Director General of Police Prashant Kumar detailed that Gautam, who had converted from Hinduism to Islam and resided in Batla House, Jamia Nagar, Delhi, boasted during interrogation about converting “at least 1,000 people to Islam” by enticing them with promises of marriage, money, and jobs.
An FIR was registered In Lucknow, prompting an investigation into the alleged illegal religious conversions and foreign funding. According to officials, the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) arrested all the accused in various operations conducted across different regions of the country.
According to the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Religious Conversion Act 2021, “No person shall convert or attempt to convert, either directly or otherwise, any other person from one religion to another by use or practice of misrepresentation, force, undue influence, coercion, allurement or by any fraudulent means or by marriage nor shall any person abet, convince or conspire such conversion”.
Under the law, any conversion deemed unlawful—whether achieved through force, misrepresentation, undue influence, coercion, or marriage—is punishable. Offenders face imprisonment ranging from 1 to 5 years. In cases involving conversions of minors, women, or individuals from Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes, the imprisonment term can be extended up to 10 years.
Image source: The Economic Times
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