“A Lucknow Sessions Court Convicts 16 in Illegal Mass Religious Conversion Case”
A Lucknow sessions court has convicted sixteen individuals in a case involving illegal mass religious conversions, on charges ranging from cheating to waging war against India and inciting religious hatred.
The verdict was delivered by Judge Vivekanand Saran Tripathi, who sentenced twelve of the convicts, including Maulana Umar Gautam and Mohd Kaleem Siddiqui, to life imprisonment. The remaining four were sentenced to ten years of rigorous imprisonment.
The convicted individuals include Maulana Umar Gautam, Arshan Mustafa alias Bhupriya Bando, Adam alias Prasad Rameshwaram Kovere, Abdul Mannan alias Munnu Yadav, Mohd Atif alias Kunal Ashok Choudhary, Mufti Qazi Jahangir Qasmi, Kaushar Alam, Faraz Babullah Shah, Irfan Sheikh, Salahuddin Zainuddin Sheikh, Dheeraj Govind, Rahul Bola, Mohd Kaleem Siddiqui, Mohd Salim, Sarfaraz Ali Jafari, and Abdullah Umar.
According to the prosecution, the accused were involved in anti-national activities by orchestrating mass conversions from Hinduism to Islam in Uttar Pradesh. They were also said to have promoted Islam publicly and provided support for the converted individuals.
The Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad (UP ATS) arrested the accused in 2021, and their criminal trial commenced in 2022. They were convicted of the offences on September 11, with sentencing announced the following day.
In addition to illegal religious conversions, they were charged with generating substantial funds for these activities. The convictions include violations under the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021, and Section 35 of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010, which pertains to accepting foreign currency unlawfully.
