Lucknow

Police in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh claimed to have uncovered a racket involving religious conversion through an alleged gaming app. The Ministry of Home Affairs and the UP government have now sought a detailed report on the case and the modus operandi used to allegedly lure the youngsters. 

Advertisment

The police claimed that the gang allegedly targetted impressionable children through an online game.

The said the game required users to recite verses from the Quran in order to win. They were also shown videos of radical Islamists such as Zakir Naik and Tariq Jameel.

Naik is a fugitive, currently on the run from the Indian government, after fleeing the country in 2016. 

Advertisment

"The accused also used to talk with the gamers (children) through a chat application and there they were shown videos of Zakir Naik and Tariq Jameel to persuade them to convert," a police officer in Ghaziabad said.

Cleric arrested from mosque 

On Sunday, an Islamic cleric at a mosque in the Sanjay Nagar area of Ghaziabad was arrested in connection with the case.

Advertisment

The police acted after a father from Faridabad reported his son had been converted by someone he met online and had been visiting the mosque. 

The cleric arrested has been identified as Abdul Rehman and hails from Ballia. Meanwhile, a manhunt has been launched to nab the second accused, who hails from Thane in the western state of Maharashtra. 

"On May 30, a case of religious conversion was registered at Kavi Nagar Police Station, in which two people were named and were identified as Shahnawaz Khan alias Baddo, a resident of Thane, Maharashtra and Nanni alias Abdul Rehman, a Maulvi at a mosque in Sanjay Nagar area.

Rehman has been arrested," said Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Ghaziabad, Nipun Agarwal.

WATCH | BGMI game returns to India after a year-long ban

×

Although the mosque committee claimed that Rehman quit the panel a few months ago, proof of the claim is yet to be submitted. 

"They don't have any proof. They, however, removed Rehman from the mosque committee's WhatsApp group on 2 June after the FIR was lodged in the conversion row," the police said.

According to the police, upon questioning the boy, they learnt that he and his friends were in contact with Rehman through a gaming app since 2021.

The boy's mother said she witnessed a change in his son's behaviour and even tried to counsel him but to no avail. 

The police is yet to question the youth from Chandigarh who had been brainwashed to convert by the gang. Further investigation is currently underway. 

(With inputs from agencies)

WATCH WION LIVE HERE: