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Synopsis

In a significant verdict, a Special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Uttar Pradesh’s Lucknow district on September 10 held 16 persons guilty in connection with an illegal mass religious conversion case.

NIA/ATS court judge, Vivekanand Saran Tripathi, sentenced Maulana Umar Gautam, Mohammad Kaleem Siddiqui, and ten others to life imprisonment under charges that include promoting enmity, sedition, and offences under the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act. Four additional accused were handed 10-year rigorous imprisonment terms.

According to the prosecution, Siddiqui and others were involved in running a wide-scale conversion racket through organizations and educational institutions funded by international entities. They allegedly coerced individuals into converting through financial incentives and psychological manipulation.

The Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad uncovered the racket after arresting Umar Gautam, chairman of the Islamic Da’wah Centre based in Delhi's Batla House, along with Mufti Kazi Jahangir Kasmi, a centre employee, on June 20, 2021. During the subsequent investigation, 15 more individuals, including Gautam's son Abdullah Umar, were also taken into custody.

The prosecution argued that the network had a broader agenda of imposing Sharia law in the country. It alleged that Umar Gautam targeted vulnerable individuals by sharing his own conversion from Hinduism’s Thakur caste to Islam, often emphasizing caste discrimination to influence them. The convicts also promised jobs to those who converted.

Gautam, along with his associates, reportedly received foreign funding for these activities. The prosecution claimed their objective was to alter India’s demographic landscape, disturb public order, and undermine national security by converting individuals to Islam.