Read Time: 06 minutes

Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS), UP, Lucknow, has filed the second charge sheet in nationwide illegal religious conversion racket case. In its press release on Wednesday, ATS said that strong evidences have been found against four more accused proving that the racket was being operated under a large criminal plan.

ATS said that evidences are there proving that this racket had an aim of establishing a ‘Shariyat’ led government instead of a constitutionally established one by overturning the religious population balance of India for which series of mass conversions are being done under an organic mechanism.

The press release states that the accused Prakash Rameshwar Kanware @Adam, Faraz Shah, Kausar Alam, Bhupriya Bindo @Arslaan had a major role in the illegal syndicate run by mainly Umar Gautam. 

ATS has informed that for the operation of this syndicate, a huge amount of funding has also been done from abroad, for which strong evidences were found.

The press release reads, “Umar Gautam and his associates were funded by the UK based organization Al-falah Trust through hawala and other means, the details of which the above accused could not provide.”

ATS said that Maulana Kalim Siddiqui's Trust 'Jamia Imam Waliullah' was also regularly funded in huge amounts from the same sources which funded Umar Gautam’s Trust , 'Al Hasan Educational and Welfare Foundation'. ATS added that in the investigation till now, it was found that there has been funding of total of 22 crore Rs. into Kalim’s Trust.

ATS added that electronic evidences found from Adam’s and Kausar’s possession proved that they both are inspired and nurtured by Jihad’s violent ideology.

As per ATS, under this conversion racket, poor, women, handicapped, especially deaf and mute were being forced to convert against their will by intimidating them and putting them under illegitimate pressure etc., in a malicious manner.

ATS stated that these accused used to tell misleading facts to the converting about his/her original religion and during the process of conversion, the racket members also used to create animosity in the hearts of converted towards their original religion which eventually results in disturbing the religious brotherhood.

The press release reads that to make sure that a converted doesn’t return to the original religion in any case, from time to time, workshops and training for illegal conversions are also conducted regularly.

“In this way, by connecting the converted person to the fundamentalist ideology, he is given the responsibility of the process of conversion of other people of his original religion, friends and relatives in a chained manner,” ATS said.

ATS added that evidences have also been found the these radicalized and converter persons are being associated with anti-national extremist ideology increasing mutual animosity and bitterness between different religions which resultantly affects the brotherhood strengthening unity and integrity of the nation.

Till now a 16 accused have been arrested and sent to judicial custody. Earlier, on September 18, first chargesheet was filed against Umar Gautam and 3 others.