‘ISIS-Style’ Religious Conversion Racket Busted By UP Police, 10 Arrested Across 6 States
The Uttar Pradesh Police on Saturday announced the busting of a large-scale illegal religious conversion and radicalisation racket, which they claimed operated in a manner similar to the terror group ISIS. In a multi-state operation, ten people have been arrested from six different states in connection with the network.
The investigation was initiated in Agra in March after two sisters, aged 33 and 18, were reported missing. Police officials said they later discovered the sisters had allegedly been coerced into changing their religion and were being radicalised.
Agra Commissioner of Police, Deepak Kumar, stated that the modus operandi of the gang “bears a signature of ISIS.” He added that one of the missing sisters had used a social media profile picture showing a girl holding an AK-47 rifle. “Preliminary investigations found that the sisters were targeted by a gang involved in ‘love jihad’ and radicalisation,” the commissioner said.
The police also claimed that the racket received funding from foreign countries. “We also found clues about their funding originating from America and Canada,” Commissioner Kumar stated.
The ten arrested individuals, including one woman, were apprehended from Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Delhi, Uttarakhand, and Goa. They are suspected of playing various roles, from receiving illegal funds and providing shelter to facilitating the conversion process.
The arrested have been identified as Ayesha (alias S.B. Krishna) from Goa; Ali Hasan (alias Shekhar Roy) and Osama from Kolkata; Rehman Qureshi from Agra; Abbu Talib from Muzaffarnagar; Abur Rehman from Dehradun; Mustafa (alias Manoj) from Delhi; and Mohammad Ali and Junaid Qureshi from Jaipur.
Given the serious nature of the allegations, specialised units like the UP Special Task Force (STF) and the Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) have been brought in to assist with the investigation. The crackdown is part of “Mission Asmita,” an initiative by the Yogi Adityanath government to tackle crimes such as illegal conversion and threats to national security.
UP Director General of Police, Rajeev Krishna, confirmed that the police are coordinating with other state and central agencies to trace the full extent of the network and will seek custodial remand of the accused for further questioning.
