A special NIA-Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) court in Lucknow sentenced Islamic preacher Maulana Kalim Siddiqui, Islamic Da’wah Centre founder Mohammed Umar Gautam, and 10 others to life imprisonment on Wednesday in connection with a 2021 illegal religious conversion case.
The court stated that out of the twelve accused, four individuals — Mohd. Salim, Rahul Bhola, Mannu Yadav, and Kunal Ashok Chaudhary — were also sentenced to 10 years in prison under the UP Prohibition of Religious Conversion Act 2021.
In addition to Gautam and Siddiqui, those sentenced to life imprisonment include Irfan Sheikh, Salauddin Zainuddin Sheikh, Prasad Rameshwar Kanware alias Adam, Arsalan Mustafa alias Bhupriya Bandon, Kaushar Alam, Faraz Shah, Dheeraj Govind Rao Jagtap, Sarfaraz Ali Jafri, Qazi Jahangir, and Abdullah Umar, all charged under IPC section 121A (conspiracy to commit an offence against the State).
Officials stated that the accused were operating a racket called the Islamic Da’wah Centre, which was involved in converting poor individuals and students with hearing impairments to Islam. The group is also suspected of receiving funding from Pakistan’s intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
Director General of Police Prashant Kumar explained that Gautam, who had converted to Islam from Hinduism and resided in Delhi’s Jamia Nagar, Batla House, claimed during interrogation that he had facilitated the conversion of “at least 1,000 people to Islam,” enticing them with promises of marriage, money, and jobs. Kumar further added that an FIR was filed in Lucknow, leading to an investigation into alleged illegal religious conversions and foreign funding. Officials stated that all the accused were arrested by the ATF in multiple operations carried out across various parts of the country.
The Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Religious Conversion Act 2021 states that “no person shall convert or attempt to convert another individual from one religion to another through misrepresentation, force, undue influence, coercion, allurement, fraudulent means, or marriage, nor shall anyone abet, convince, or conspire to facilitate such a conversion.”
Any conversion found to be unlawful—whether through force, misrepresentation, coercion, or marriage—is punishable by imprisonment ranging from 1 to 5 years. If the conversion involves minors, women, or individuals from Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes, the sentence can be extended to 10 years.
