On June 4, Ghaziabad Police revealed shocking details in the matter where a minor Jain boy was lured by Islamists to follow practices of Islam including offering Namaz five times a day. As per reports, the victim’s father filed a complaint on May 30 at Kavinagar Police Station in which he said his minor son was lured into practising Islam by Islamists online. So far, 3 Hindu boys and 1 Jain boy have been identified as victims, brainwashed through a game called Fortnite.
#PoliceCommissionerateGhaziabad
— POLICE COMMISSIONERATE GHAZIABAD (@ghaziabadpolice) June 4, 2023
कमिश्नरेट गाजियाबाद पुलिस टीम द्वारा नाबालिग बच्चे काे बहला फुसलाकर धर्मांन्तरण कराने वाला अभियुक्त गिरफ्तार ।@Uppolice pic.twitter.com/06IFghnDtm
As per the press release by Ghaziabad Police, a team was formed to investigate the matter after filing an FIR under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Apart from a victim who belongs to the Jain community, two victim Hindu boys and their parents were also questioned by the police.
During the investigation, police found that the real identity of the online handle Baddo with whom the victim was talking regularly, was Shahnawaz Maksood Khan s/o Maksood Khan of Shazia Apartment, Devipada Mumbra under Mumbra Police Station area, Thane, Maharashtra. A special team of UP Police was sent to Thane, Maharashtra to arrest the accused. Maksood was the mastermind behind the nexus. DCP Nagar Zone Nipun Agarwal said so far four boys (one Jain and three Hindus) have been identified as victims. Two of them (one Jain and one Hindu) are from Ghaziabad, one (Hindu) from Faridabad and one (Hindu) from Chandigarh.
#PoliceCommissionerateGhaziabad
— POLICE COMMISSIONERATE GHAZIABAD (@ghaziabadpolice) June 4, 2023
कमिश्नरेट गाजियाबाद पुलिस टीम द्वारा नाबालिग बच्चे काे बहला फुसलाकर धर्मांन्तरण कराने वाला अभियुक्त गिरफ्तार ।
बाइट-डीसीपी नगर जोन@Uppolice https://t.co/51y2W6J8PR pic.twitter.com/EJRHu7R3qZ
Another accused identified as Maulvi Abdul Rehman alias Nanni s/o Mehmood Ansari or Sanjaynagar in the Madhuban Bapudham Police Station area of Ghaziabad was apprehended by the police.
During the investigation, police found that there were multiple steps involved in luring Hindu and Jain boys towards Islam. In the first step, Muslim men created ids with Hindu names and played Fortnite games with unaware players of the Hindu and Jain communities. If they lose, the accused would force them to recite Islamic verses suggesting it will help them win. Later, they would let them win to establish trust.
In the second step, they were lured into following Islamic practices. In the third step, they would share videos of fugitive Islamic preacher Zakir Naik and Islamic speeches to brainwash the victims. Using these videos, they would inform them about Islamic practices and lure them to embrace Islam. Once they convert to Islam, videos of infamous Tablighi cleric Tariq Jamil were shared to make them extremists. Zakir Naik was declared a fugitive by the Government of India. He was banned by Indian Govt in 2015.
During the interrogation, Ansari revealed that he was a member of the Sanjaynagar Jama Masjid committee but he was suspended a couple of months ago. Furthermore, Ansari wanted people from Hindu and other communities to embrace Islam and he would do anything to fulfil his desires.
A year ago, he came across two minor boys who were getting attracted to Islam while playing online games. He used the situation to lure them to convert to Islam and told them that Islam is better than other religions. He was well aware of the religion of the minors but he wanted more people to embrace Islam and he succeeded to convert them to some extent. However, their family members found out and the parents of one of the boys filed a police complaint.
Though he had deleted all the chats and data related to his activities from the mobile phone, police were able to find evidence of his activities on the device. Based on the technical evidence, further investigation is underway.
Complaint filed for forced conversion
On May 31, it was reported that a minor Jain boy’s family filed a complaint at the Kavinagar police station that their minor son was brainwashed into embracing Islam. The complainant has stated that his minor used to step out of his five times a day on the pretext of going to the gym. One day, the complainant covertly followed his son and found out that the minor boy was not going to the gym but a mosque and offered namaz there. When the boy’s father confronted him, he claimed that Islam is better than other religions. When the father checked his phone and laptop he found material pertaining to Islam including some illegal stuff. His father said that brainwashed into engaging in Islamic activities.
He is now talking about leaving his home and living with the mosque’s Imam. The complainant has also stated that his son goes to the mosque in Sector-23 in Sanjay Nagar to offer Namaz and that the people there may be complicit in the conversion racket Not only that, but he has expressed concern about his son being involved in anti-national activities. The father found out about his son following Islamic practices when he followed him to the gym. His son would leave home five times every day claiming he was going to the gym. In reality, he was going to the mosque to offer Namaz.
