An Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) court in Uttar Pradesh has convicted Islamic scholar Umar Gautam and 15 others for their involvement in an illegal religious conversion scheme dating back to 2021.
The court’s ruling, issued on Tuesday, sent all 16 convicts to jail. They will return to court on Wednesday for a hearing on the sentencing, according to legal sources.
Umar Gautam, along with Mufti Qazi Jahangir Alam Qasmi, was apprehended on June 20, 2021, in Delhi’s Jamia Nagar. The duo was accused of operating a covert organization that facilitated the religious conversion of hearing-impaired students and economically vulnerable individuals in Uttar Pradesh, allegedly with financial backing from Pakistan’s intelligence agency, the ISI, according to UP police officials.
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The arrests followed an FIR lodged at the ATS police station in Lucknow. At the time, senior police officers noted that Gautam, a resident of Delhi’s Batla House, had himself converted to Islam from Hinduism. During his interrogation, Gautam reportedly claimed to have converted at least 1,000 people to Islam, offering promises of marriage, financial incentives, and employment opportunities, as stated by Director General of Police Prashant Kumar, who also led the ATS during the investigation.
The operation was conducted under the banner of the Islamic Da’wah Centre, which was allegedly funded by foreign entities, including Pakistan’s ISI. The ATS investigation revealed connections between the center and various foreign organizations, police said.
The verdict marks a significant moment in the case, with the court set to determine the sentences of all the convicts in the coming days.