Varanasi: With the arrest of 18 people, including mastermind Sikandar, from Barabanki last week, the Azamgarh police claim to have busted a gang involved in illegal conversion to Islam. The police is now tracing the number of people who came in contact with him.
According to the police, Sikandar and his associates, who claimed to have links to a dargah in Barabanki, had decorated the slum area of Chirkihit village in Devgaon like a shrine and used to convert people during their regular qawwali and religious discourse sessions.
Azamgarh superintendent of police Anurag Arya told TOI on Sunday that when Lalganj police outpost in-charge Devendra Nath Dubey and the police led by sub-inspector Satyendra Singh Reached the spot on 25 May, a huge crowd was present during the qawwali and religious discourse session and additional police force had to be called in to control the crowd during the arrest.
The police claimed that Sikandar and his men were making attractive offers of conversion to people by praising Islam and criticizing Hinduism and its traditions.
The arrested people have been identified as Sikandar, Haseena, Farid Mohammad, Mohammad Sabroz, Rashid of Azamgarh, Sahabuddin of Balrampur, Ramzan of Gonda, Faiyaz of Jaunpur, Mohammad Javed, Parvez Azam. Irfan AhmedJaved Ahmed, Sabir Ali of Mau, Awadhesh Saroj, Usha Devi, Pannalal Gupta, Kundan Benvanshi and Sky Saroj of Azamgarh.
All of them were booked under sections of the UP Unlawful Religious Conversion Prohibition Ordinance.
The ordinance makes conversion effected through false information, by force, illegally or by any such fraudulent and dishonest means a non-bailable offense with a jail term of up to 10 years.
According to the Azamgarh police, during interrogation, Sikandar and his associates confessed that they were mobilizing people for religious conversion by organizing this event. Police said he also disclosed that he had received money for these activities.
According to the police, Sikandar and his associates, who claimed to have links to a dargah in Barabanki, had decorated the slum area of Chirkihit village in Devgaon like a shrine and used to convert people during their regular qawwali and religious discourse sessions.
Azamgarh superintendent of police Anurag Arya told TOI on Sunday that when Lalganj police outpost in-charge Devendra Nath Dubey and the police led by sub-inspector Satyendra Singh Reached the spot on 25 May, a huge crowd was present during the qawwali and religious discourse session and additional police force had to be called in to control the crowd during the arrest.
The police claimed that Sikandar and his men were making attractive offers of conversion to people by praising Islam and criticizing Hinduism and its traditions.
The arrested people have been identified as Sikandar, Haseena, Farid Mohammad, Mohammad Sabroz, Rashid of Azamgarh, Sahabuddin of Balrampur, Ramzan of Gonda, Faiyaz of Jaunpur, Mohammad Javed, Parvez Azam. Irfan AhmedJaved Ahmed, Sabir Ali of Mau, Awadhesh Saroj, Usha Devi, Pannalal Gupta, Kundan Benvanshi and Sky Saroj of Azamgarh.
All of them were booked under sections of the UP Unlawful Religious Conversion Prohibition Ordinance.
The ordinance makes conversion effected through false information, by force, illegally or by any such fraudulent and dishonest means a non-bailable offense with a jail term of up to 10 years.
According to the Azamgarh police, during interrogation, Sikandar and his associates confessed that they were mobilizing people for religious conversion by organizing this event. Police said he also disclosed that he had received money for these activities.