A major multi-state conversion gang affiliated with a Pakistani terror outfits was busted after two girls from Agra fell into its trap. The First Information Report (FIR) filed by their father uncovered the international syndicate. 13 individuals including the mastermind had been apprehended across 6 states. They were receiving financial support from multiple countries such as America, London, Canada, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The bewildered father recently narrated his horrific experience to the Dainik Bhaskar. “My 33-year-old daughter, Deepali, was preparing to pursue a PhD in 2021 when she encountered Saima, a resident of Udhampur, who was also known as Khushboo. After meeting her Deepali’s behaviour began to change and told me to stop performing puja-paath,” he revealed.
He felt suspicious and tried to communicate her concerns but she limited her interactions with him. “She started to isolate herself in the room with her younger sister, Khushi, throughout the day. She would discuss another religion (Islam) with her. A few days later, Khushi also started to be influenced by her and on 24th March both of them left our home,” the man unveield.
The missing girls were located in Bengal and returned to their families. It was later disclosed that Deepali changed her name to “Amina” and Khushi took on the name “Zoya.” The father stated, “Had the police not traveled to Kolkata, the daughters would have been married.” The police successfully rescued the two girls from Kolkata who had been reported missing from the Sadar area of Agra and brought them back to their family.
He conveyed, “Deepali was preparing for her PhD in Agra when her friend Saima lured her to her home under the guise of taking her to Kashmir. She manipulated my daughter who started to say odd things upen her return. She developed a sense of aversion towards Hindu traditions.”
“Whenever there was a puja at home, she would refrain from participating. She would spend all day with her younger sister Khushi. Additionally, she began to share the advantages of performing namaz and wearing a hijab,” he added. The two sisters shared a room. Over time, her words and mindset began to influence his younger daughter. They pair conspired to run away from home and suddenly disappeared in March. Afterward, the authorities filed a kidnapping report on his complaint on 4th March.
What did the authorities disclose
A senior officer from Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terror Squad (ATS), who is part of the investigation, informed, “On 24th March, the family members had left their home and exploiting situation, Deepali traveled to Delhi with Khushi. She met Mohammad Ibrahim there and he sent both girls to Bihar and then Kolkata.
Deepali and Khushi resided in a Muslim neighborhood in Kolkata. There they met Ayesha who manipulated them to the extent that they consented to become Mujahida (female jihadi). The sisters embraced Islam through a cleric and adopted new names. The police examined their mobile phones and found out that they were in communication with Abdul Rehman.
He would engage in daily conversations with them via chat and encouragd them to convert other females. During their questioning, the cops uncovered a photograph on their social media profile in which one of them was seen holding an AK-47.
Agra Police Commissioner Deepak Kumar also informed the media about the names and former identities of the accused. Goa native Ayesha was previously known as SB Krishna and her spouse, Ali Hasan from Kolkata, was formerly Shekhar Roy. He was employed at the Kolkata court and served as a legal advisor for gang members.
Abu Rehman from Dehradun was once Rupendra Baghel while Mohammad Ali from Jaipur was a Hindu named Piyush Singh Panwar. Likewise, Mustafa of Delhi was Manoj and Mohammad Ibrahim from Kolkata was Reet Banik. All accused were interrogated individually, revealing that this gang operated in states such as Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Bengal and Goa.
Abdul Rehman and his links with Zakir Naik
Abdul Rehman who converted in 1990 operated a channel titled “The Sunnah” where he produced podcast videos focused on Islamic literature and individuals associated with the Muslim faith. The channel features 1000 uploaded videos and garnered approximately 1.7 lakh subscribers. The Agra Police have discovered large quantity of literature pertaining to conversion at his house.
It included books authored by Zakir Naik and Kaleem Siddiqui regarding conversion. Abdul Rehman himself authored several books on Islam, including “Islam aur Bahujan Sama,” “Terrorism aur Islam” and “Returning Your Trust.” The authorities are probing if has any ties to fugitive Islamist Zakir Naik.
He was associated with Maulana Kaleem Siddiqui of Muzaffarnagar and took control of his gang after he and his campanions were incarcerated, last year. The former was known as “Rehman Chacha” among the members.
The arrested individuals had diverse roles within the network including fundraising, channeling funds, offering legal advice for conversion, obtaining new phones and SIM cards, luring Hindu girls into love traps and drafting legal documents for religious conversion. A secret operation led to their capture by 11 teams of 45 officers.
This gang utilized funds from abroad to recruit young people, especially girls, by enticing them with job offers in Gulf countries. They provided financial support, housing and valuable items to perpetrate their agenda. On 23rd July, UP ATS arrested two more members of the gang in Delhi. Abdullah and Abdul Rahim, sons of Abdul Rahman were involved in supporting his activities. Significant intelligence leads have been discovered on their devices.
After the initial inquiry, the police reported that the gang which is involved in “love jihad” and the radicalization of young Hindu women and men. It operates similarly to Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. There are indications that it has ties to Pakistani terrorist organizations as well. Gang leader Abdul Rehman also known as Mahendra Pal Jadoun and SB Krishna alias Ayesha have converted hundreds of individuals thus far. The two were Hindus before embracing Islam.
Notably, Maulana (Muslim cleric) Kaleem Siddiqui who is already behind bars in a similar case, is the original mind behind the group which also has ties to Popular Front of India (PFI) and Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI).