The UP Police has filed a fresh case against Maulana Kaleen Siddiqui of Phulat Madarsa based on a complaint by one Amit Prajapati from Charthawal, district Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh. In his complaint, the man accused Siddiqui and six others. Prajapati has claimed that Siddiqui not only converted him to Islam but also forced him to eat beef. He also said that he was offered Rs. 4 lakh for conversion. The Police have initiated a probe in the case under Conversion Act.
Prajapati said that in the year 2014, he met Haji Salim in a furniture showroom. Salim took him to Phulat Madarsa in May 2014. Maulana Kalim Siddiqui got him to recite Kalma and converted to Islam. He lured him with Rs. 4 lakh and a promise to marry him with the girl of his choice and converted him to Islam. Prajapati was given the Islamic name Abdullah after the conversion.
After the conversions, Prajapati said he was taken to Jamaat in Maharashtra. He stayed there for 40 days. He was taught to read Namaz and Kalma. He was later sent to Madarsa Deoband, where he learnt Urdu and Arabic languages. After that, he was asked to lure other young men and women into converting to Islam. He was given Rs. 4 lakh, which he used to buy a plot in Charthaval.
In his complaint, Prajapati said that Haji Salim, Dilshad, Zahid Mulla, Naushad Chhota, Yameen and Israr Pradhan came to meet him on October 25. They brought beef in a tiffin box and asked him to eat. When refused, the accused started abusing and beating him. They threatened they would kill him.
He further said in the complaint that Siddiqui and other accused also made a video of him in which he was forced to say objectionable thongs against other religions. According to Prajapati, the video is still there on Siddiqui’s YouTube channel Alkalam.
Police allegedly delayed action
According to a statement given to Amar Ujala, the victim has claimed that the Police delayed taking action against the accused despite the fact that Siddiqui has already been caught by ATS in the case linked to mass conversion in Uttar Pradesh. The victim said that the Charthwal Police Station kept the complaint suppressed for two days. It was after Hindu Jagran Manch raised voice against the delay that the Police came into action and assured a quick investigation.
Maulana Kaleem Siddiqui and his connection to mass conversion racket
In September this year, Islamic scholar Maulana Kaleem Siddiqui, who is one of the biggest clerics from western UP, was detained on charges of religious conversions. The 64-year-old Islamic scholar runs Jamia Imam Waliullah trust that funds several madrassas for which he received huge foreign funding, the police said.
His name appeared during the investigation that UP ATS has initiated after the arrest of one Umar Gautam and his aide accused of mass conversions. Reportedly, the duo ran an organisation named Islamic Dawah Centre(IDC), along with their other associates, to mass convert people into Islam through inducements such as marriage, job and money and mental pressure.
Later in October, Siddiqui’s properties were raided by ATS. The investigation agency seized incriminating evidence from desktops, tablets and documents during 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.