A sessions court in Lucknow has convicted Muslim cleric Umar Gautam and 15 others for allegedly carrying out over 1,000 illegal religious conversions in Uttar Pradesh.
NIA/ATS court judge Vivekanand Saran Tripathi on September 10 convicted key accused Umar Gautam, Arshan Mustafa alias Bhupriya Bando, Adam alias Prasad Rameshwaram Kovere, Mufti Qazi Jahangir Qasmi, Kaushar Alam, Faraz Babullah Shah, Irfan Sheikh, Salahuddin Zainuddin Sheikh, Dheeraj Govind, Mohd Kaleem Siddiqui, Mohd Salim, Sarfaraz Ali Jafari and Abdullah Umar to life imprisonment under Sections 417, 153, 295A, 121 and 123 of the Indian Penal Code. They were further convicted under relevant Sections of the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act.
Besides, the Special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court awarded 10 years of rigorous imprisonment to Rahul Bola, Abdul Mannan alias Munnu Yadav and Mohd Atif alias Kunal Ashok Choudhary and Mohd Salim in the case.
Prosecution counsel MK Singh Siddiqui said the Muslim cleric and others were involved in running a wide-scale conversion racket through organizations and educational institutions funded by international entities.
They allegedly coerced individuals, including specially-abled children and other vulnerable groups, to convert to Islam through financial incentives and psychological manipulation.
The Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad uncovered the racket after arresting Maulana Umar Gautam, chairman of the Islamic Da’wah Centre based in Delhi’s Batla House, along with Mufti Kazi Jahangir Kasmi, an employee of the centre, on June 20, 2021.
The UP ATS team further arrested 14 people in the case, including Abdullah Umar, son of Umar Gautam. The prosecution alleged that the network had a broader agenda of imposing Sharia law in the country.
Umar Gautam was accused of targeting vulnerable individuals by sharing his own conversion from Hinduism’s Thakur caste to Islam, while emphasizing caste discrimination to influence them. The convicts allegedly promised jobs to those who converted to Islam.
The Muslim cleric, along with his associates, reportedly received foreign funding for these activities. The prosecution claimed that their objective was to alter India’s demographic landscape, disturb public order, and undermine national security by converting individuals to Islam.