About half a dozen accused are from the Maharashtra network of the syndicate (File)
Noida:
The Anti-Terrorism Squad of the Uttar Pradesh Police on Sunday said it has arrested one more accused in the illegal conversion case, taking the number of arrests in the case to 16.
The latest arrest is of a Delhi-based man, who was nabbed from Noida on Saturday after it was found that he was in contact with others involved in a conversion syndicate, the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) said.
“The accused Abdullah Umar Gautam, a resident of Delhi’s Jamia Nagar area, was in constant touch with people who had been arrested earlier in the conversion case. He used to distribute money received from foreign countries among the converts, the ATS said in a statement. said.
“He was linked to other accused including Jahangir Alam, Kausar Alam, Faraz Shah, and looked after the work of Al-Farukhi Madrasa and Masjid and ran the Islamic Dawa Center in Delhi, both managed by his father Maulvi Umar . Gautam,” the agency said.
Officials said that so far, Uttar Pradesh Police has arrested 16 people, including the main accused Maulvi Umar Gautam, Kaleem Siddiqui, in connection with the case registered at the ATS police station in Lucknow.
He told that about half a dozen accused are from the Maharashtra network of the syndicate.
According to the ATS, the bank account details of Abdullah Omar Gautam showed receipt of money from foreign sources similar to the accounts of his father Umar Gautam.
The ATS said, “Till now an amount of Rs 75 lakh had been deposited in Abdullah’s accounts from various sources, of which Rs 17 lakh had come from abroad. This fund was used by him, his father and other associates among converts.” Had to deliver.” .
Officials said the illegal conversion syndicate being probed by the UP Police has links in several states including Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Delhi.
Officials said the funds for the syndicate have been received from foreign countries including the US, UK and Gulf countries through hawala and other illegal means.
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