The Anti-Terrorist Squad of Uttar Pradesh has arrested Maulana Mohammed Umar Gautam’s son Abdullah in connection with the alleged ISI-funded conversion racket having international links. While Gautam was arrested on June 20 this year, his son was arrested on Saturday (November 6) from Gautam Buddha Nagar.
Maulana Umar Gautam’s son Abdullah arrested in connection with unlawful religious conversion: Uttar Pradesh’s Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS)
— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) November 7, 2021
Gautam was earlier arrested along with his accomplice for allegedly being part of a nationwide religious conversion racket.
Abdullah is alleged to have deep involvement in the conversion racket along with his father who along with other accused said to have converted over 1000 people. In a press statement, UP ATS has disclosed the charges on which Abdullah was arrested. “As per protocols, the arrested will be produced before the court. The foreign funding and the expenditure of funds as well as relation with other accused are some of the things that the police will interrogate Abdullah about, and for the same, is pleading the court for custody,” the ATS said in the statement.
One more nabbed by #UPATS in #IllegalConversion Case. pic.twitter.com/TUDIoUfTep
— Kuldeep Kishor (@kuldeepkishor_) November 7, 2021
The investigation has revealed that like his father, Abdullah had received huge funding worth Rs 75 lakh in his bank account out of which Rs 17 lakh was obtained through foreign fundings. Both have the same source of funding which was used for the purpose of religious conversion into Islam by luring people. The fund was distributed among converted people and to further attract non-Muslims for conversion. Abdullah also used to manage and run Al Farooqi Madrasa and mosque and Islamic Dawa Center (IDC), two fronts of Gautam to carry conversion racket. ATS has said that Abdullah was an important cog of this conversion racket and he was in direct touch with other accused of this case namely Jahangir Alam, Kaushar and Faraz.
The ATS so far has arrested 17 accused in this case including Gautam, his son, Maulana Kaleem Siddiqui, Rameshwar Kawade alias Adam, Arsalan alias Bhupriya Bando, Kaushar Alam and others. ATS has also established the flow of foreign funds worth Rs 57 Crore to the account of Gautam and his associates through hawala channels. ATS said that Al Hasan Education and Welfare Foundation of Gautam and Jamia Imam Waliullah of Kaleem Siddiqui received funds from the same sources. ATS traced sources of fundings to UK, USA and Gulf countries. Investigation so far has established Kaleem Siddiqui having received Rs 22 Crore through foreign funding for the purpose of conversion. It also claimed that Accused like Adam and Kaushar were spreading the ideology of Al-Qaeda.
