Four accused in the much talked about mass religious conversion case in Bharuch have now moved the Gujarat High Court in a bid to get the FIR quashed. As reported by a Gujarati daily Gujarat Samachar, Shabbir Bakerywala, Samaj Bakerywala, Hasan Tisli and Ismail Achhodwala have moved the High Court and said that there has been a police complaint against nine people including the four of them. They are accused of having received foreign funding and using the same to convert tribals in the area to Islam.
The applicants have claimed that there has been religious conversion but no one was lured into doing so. They claim that the complainant converted to Islam in 2018 and also claimed discrepancies in the complaint.
OpIndia had earlier reported how as many as 37 tribal families were converted to Islam back in 2018 by luring them with promises of better jobs, money, marriage. Speaking to OpIndia, Pravin Vasava, who had converted to Islam and went by the name Salman Patel, till he reverted, said, “We were taught there is no such religion as Hindu religion and Islam is true religion.” He also said how those who were converted to Islam back in 2018 were not informed that their identity cards would also be changed. He informed how they were taken to Surat to get the legal documents done.
“Tribals are poor people. If someone gives some food grains, we believe they are nice people. Which is why people get lured to religious conversion,” Vasava had said while speaking to OpIndia.
On November 15, 2021, Amod Police had registered an offence under the Gujarat Freedom for Religion Bill. On December 16, Bharuch Police arrested six more accused in the case. Yakub Ibrahim Shanker from Patan, Rizwan Mehboob Patel from Palej, Thakorbhai Girdharbhai Vasava, Sajid Mohammed Patel and Yusuf Patel from Amod while Ayub Bashir Patel from Jambusar were arrested. According to police, the accused arrested collected Rs 14 lakh funds through donation from foreign countries. Of this, Rs 7 lakh were collected by Rizwan Patel from on Ismail in Bahrain.
As per Indian Express report, Bharuch Deputy Superintendent of Police M P Bhojani said that during the investigation it was revealed that Yakub Shanker and Rizwan Patel collected Rs 14 lakh which was used to construct one Ibadatgah (prayer house) as well as to distribute amongst those who convert to Islam. No permission from Bharuch District Collector was taken for such conversion activity.
Bhojani further added that Thakorbhai Girdharbhai Vasava played an important role in the various conversion activities of the tribal families into Islam. This amount was used for further religious conversion activities. Abdul Bashir Patel of Jambusar is a member of Mohammedi mosque in village and would take newly converted tribals there to teach them about Islam.
Sajid and Yusuf are members of Baitulmaal Trust in Achhod village and Salauddin Sheikh had given them donation of Rs 3.71 lakh. In October this year, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Vadodara city police found that city-based American Federation of Muslims Of Indian Origin (AFMI) had routed hawala funds for activities including construction of 400 flats for ‘displaced’ Bangladeshi and Rohingya Muslims near Ghaziabad. It was also accused of funding maulvis near the Indo-Nepal border. Sheikh is one of the trustees of AFMI. Sheikh started the trust after getting influenced by Islamic preacher Zakir Naik in Mumbai a few years back.
His name had also surfaced in the Uttar Pradesh mass conversion racket where Umar Gautam is one of the prime suspects.
Following Vasava’s complaint in November, Abdul Aziz Patel (Ajitbhai Chhagan Vasava), Yusuf Jivan Patel (Mahendra Jivan Vasava), Ayub Barkat Patel (Raman Barkat Vasava), Ibrahim Punabhai Patel (Jitubhai Punabhai Vasava) all residents of Kakariya village in Amod taluka were arrested. Five others identified as Shabbir Bakerywala (Amod), Samaj Bakerywala (Amod), Hasan Tisli (Achhod village), Fefdawala Haji Abdulla (Nabipur) and Ismail Achhodwala (Maulvi from Anchod village) are absconding. Of these absconding, four have moved High Court to quash the FIR.
A source close to the case has accused the Bharuch police administration of being lax. “They have arrested those who were originally Hindus and were converted to Islam. The main accused are still on the run. One of the maulvis accused in the case has applied for anticipatory bail,” he said.
