The Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) on Tuesday conducted massive raids at the premises of Maulana Kaleem Siddiqui who has been accused of running India’s ‘biggest religious conversion syndicate’.
Two residential and two commercial properties of prime accused Maulana Kaleem Siddiqui and his associates were searched in connection with the probe.
As per a press note issued by the ATS, incriminating evidence from desktops, tablets and documents has been seized from the raids conducted at several locations across the national capital.
Siddiqui’s residence as well as his organizations Global Peace Center and World Peace Organization located in Shaheen Bagh area of New Delhi were raided along with the residence of one Abdul Rahman.
The UP ATS in September had arrested the 64-year-old Islamic scholar in connection to religious conversions. Reportedly, the accused propagated religious hatred in WhatsApp groups by sharing radical messages. Additionally, Siddiqui’s Jamia Imam Waliullah trust that funds several madrassas had received huge foreign funding.
Uttar Pradesh ADG (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar had informed, “Investigation shows Maulana Kaleem Siddiqui’s trust received Rs 3 crores in foreign funding including Rs 1.5 crores from Bahrain.”
Siddiqui had been on the radar of security agencies and was finally nabbed last month. As per the police, six teams have been formed to investigate the matter further.
Crores received through hawala
The UP ATS had initiated a massive investigative operation in June this year after the arrest of one Umar Gautam and his aide accused of mass conversions.
The duo ran an organization named Islamic Dawah Centre (IDC), along with their other associates, to mass convert people into Islam through inducements such as marriage, job, money and mental pressure.
They have also been accused of targeting differently-abled children to convert and use them as human bombs. Moreover, the investigation has also revealed the illegal foreign funding received by Gautam and his accomplices.
